


Transparent Barriers

by teenydots



Series: Unfamiliar Programming [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Connor STILL has anxiety guys, Cybergore, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hank is Connor's dad, Heavy Angst, M/M, POV Alternating, Psychological Torture, Softcore Porn, Torture, but there is a decent amount of fluff, like I'll probably cry writing a few parts, soft smut, that being said there IS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2020-07-12 16:48:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 61,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19949569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teenydots/pseuds/teenydots
Summary: As Connor and Chloe make progress in living a happy life together, a horrific android murder case suddenly arises. One that is deeply disturbing to Chloe and traumatizing to Connor. Things only get worse when a pattern arises, more and more androids being killed in the same sadistic way. However, there's more behind this series of killings than anyone could've predicted, and Connor would soon figure that out the hard way.





	1. Hollow

_ Tap tap tap. _

Recognizing the quiet, steady knocking against her door, Chloe rolled her eyes, putting down the box of clothes she'd just sealed on the floor. He felt the need to knock even when he  _ knew  _ she was just packing? An exasperated, yet amused smile formed on her face, honestly impressed with how far Connor went to be polite for her sometimes.

“You really don’t need to knock, you know,” the girl reminded him as she made her way to the door, opening it to find the young Android himself. Chloe was milliseconds away from giving him a warm, delighted welcome home hug, when her smile was suddenly ripped straight off her face, finally processing the absolutely  _ awful  _ state he was in.

Connor stood there still in his uniform, staring at her and looking like he'd just seen a ghost. His face was alabaster white, his hands were trembling at his sides, and his eyes were widened in panic. A soft, shaky gasp escaped from her mouth, a paralyzing wave of worry and fear slamming right into her chest at what could’ve possibly put him into this state. They stared silently at each other for a moment or two, Connor too frozen in whatever terror he was feeling, and Chloe too afraid of what might've happened to make him like this.

"... Connor..?" Her voice was small and meek as she finally built up enough courage to ask what happened. But before she could even get the full question out, Connor flung his arms around her without warning, making her stumble back a few steps as he squeezed her so hard that she could barely breathe. He hid his face in her neck, his erratic, heavy breathing huffing next to her ear.

"C-Connor!?" Chloe was panicking now, fumbling to return the desperate embrace he had her in. "What- why- what happened!? What’s wrong!? Are you hurt!? Are-"

“No- No, I…” Connor’s whisper trembled heavily, but she could feel him beginning to relax already, his grip on her loosening and the rigidness in his arms relaxing. He wasn’t squeezing the life out of her now, just holding her dotingly while his breathing began to even out some. “I’m- I’m fine, I just…” 

He trailed off of his explanation, pulling away a small bit so that he could look at her, taking her face in his hands. At first Chloe thought he was just being affectionate, as he often was by touching her face. But now Connor was suddenly looking at her intensely, his eyes darting all over her features in an apparent desperate need to take her in. Even worse, she could tell he wasn’t even analyzing or reading her. He was just… Looking.

  
“... Connor, you’re scaring me,” Chloe’s trembling voice only reinforced her statement, tears beginning to prick at the corners of her eyes from how distressed she had gotten. "What’s going on!? Please, please tell me what’s happening..." Her tone had dropped to a near whisper, now actually beginning to beg for answers to her desperate questions.

Guilt immediately crossed the poor boy’s face upon seeing how upset he’d made her, making him squeeze his eyes shut while he forced himself to think straight for a moment. It took a second, but when Connor opened his eyes again, an awkward attempt at a reassuring smile stretched across his face, honestly only making Chloe more uncomfortable.

  
“I… I just missed you more than usual today is all,” his lie was so blatantly obvious that it made Chloe wonder why he even tried. However, the way he started brushing his fingertips down her cheek was more than sincere, his expression slowly shifting to a soft fondness for his own personal ray of sunshine. That in of itself was enough to make her feel just a tiny bit better, letting out the breath she didn't know she was holding

But, unfortunately for the both of them, Chloe just barely caught what he had failed to realize- a tear that had dislodged from his eye when he blinked fell straight to the floor, setting in stone just how truly panic-stricken he had been moments ago.

If Chloe wasn't scared before, she sure as  _ hell  _ was now. Yes, Connor was a fairly emotional person, but because he didn’t know how to deal with them, a lot of his feelings were repressed. Ever since they’d been together, she’d try to convince him nearly every day to let everything out, to take the burden off his shoulders. But each time he’d dodge the subject, somehow always finding a way to distract the both of them. As a result, she’s never,  _ never  _ seen him cry. Well, aside from the time when she had her memory wiped. Then again, maybe he didn't cry. She couldn't remember too well. She herself was crying so badly that it was kind of a blur. Granted, a blur that still haunted her, even a month later. Regardless. whatever happened, whatever he did, whatever he  _ saw _ , it was enough to break his emotional walls.

And that  _ terrified _ her.

"You're… You're crying," was all Chloe could think in the moment, taking his hands and pulling them down away from her face. "You're crying. Why? Why are you crying, Connor!? Why are you so upset!?" Her voice grew louder the longer she spoke until she was practically yelling, her grip on his hands growing so tight that her arms started to shake from how tense her muscles were.

"I- I'm not-" Connor stopped his excuse mid-sentence, resignation weighing down on his face when he realized that Chloe had tears streaming down her face now too. It was then that he finally gave up the act, sighing softly as his gaze dropped to their hands for a moment, his stare becoming a bit distant as it always did when he was deep in thought.

"... It's this new case I was assigned to," he murmured,  _ finally  _ deciding to explain himself, making Chloe exhale shakily in alleviation, sniffing back any more tears that might start rising again. She loosened her grip she had on him, instead just stroking her thumbs over his palms gently and encouraging him to go on with a subtle nod.

"It was an… An Android murder," he continued, clearing his throat and shifting uncomfortably. "I had arrived at the station too late to make it to the scene investigation. But… they showed me the pictures-” His voice broke on that last word, his brow furrowing from the effort it took to keep himself calm. A now much calmer Chloe quickly jumped in the second she heard him become troubled again, standing on her toes and leaving a lingering, comforting kiss on his cheek. That seemed to do the trick, as Connor leaned into her a bit, sighing slowly when she pulled away and nodding himself back on track.

“They… They were hollow…" his words were so quiet that Chloe didn’t even realize what he said at first. But when the words pieced themselves in her head, she squinted at him in confusion. Hollow..? What the hell does that even mean? 

“What..? Connor, how-”

“They had nothing inside of them,” the poor boy's stressed spiked almost instantly, panic creeping back into his voice when  _ he  _ became the one clutching at her hands. “There- There was  _ nothing.  _ They were just  _ empty,  _ Chloe. They- they didn’t-” He couldn’t continue his explanation, his breathing getting too erratic while he caved in on himself. 

By now, Chloe was  _ sure _ he was having some kind of anxiety attack, and she herself began to panic as a result, not thinking about how it might be a bad idea to smother him too much when she threw her arms around him. Luckily, that action actually seemed to keep his fear at bay. She could feel his body decompressing while he hugged her back again, squeezing his eyes shut and hiding his face in her hair.

While Chloe was definitely glad that she was able to help him stay calm, she herself began to get more than a bit unsettled. Yes, the image he described was horrific, and something Chloe didn't want to even _begin_ thinking about, but she was still shocked that Connor was having a reaction this severe. He's been a detective for a whole year now. Hadn't he seen terrible, terrible things in the past, too? Granted, most of it was before he was deviant, but that didn't mean that the memories wouldn't affect him now. So what wasn't he telling her that was so disturbing, so absolutely terrible about this case in particular that finally made Connor have a breakdown?

She stopped herself from thinking too much about it, not sure if she really wanted to know.

“I’m so sorry that scared you,” Chloe whispered comfortingly to him, rubbing his arms and resting her head on his shoulder. "There's no way you could ask to be given a different case, is there?"

"I don't know," Connor mumbled, his tone uncomfortable and hesitant, making it clear that he was embarrassed about being this distressed. "I- I don't know, I-" 

"We'll worry about that later," Chloe interrupted his spiraling, turning her head so that she was face to face with the young Android, smiling encouragingly up at him. "I just finished packing my things. We should move everything into my new apartment today and get it done ahead of time."

"... Yes. Yes, we should," for the first time she'd seen today, a small, weak smile appeared on Connor's face at her attempt at distracting him, making Chloe sigh in relief just before she moved in to kiss him lovingly, her arms sliding around his neck to pull him down. She was surprised, but didn't complain when he immediately complied to her advance, one of his hands wrapped around her waist while the other started combing affectionately through her hair.

Over the past month she’s stayed at Hank’s house, Chloe had put it together rather fast how much he loved her hair, as evident as how he could never seem to stop touching it when he was around her. She actually started to just leave it down every day for him, to which he most certainly noticed and took advantage of. Some days, she ended up not even needing to use her hairbrush from how often he ran his hand through it. It was absolutely adorable, the fact that the smartest, strongest, most advanced Android in existence was enraptured by something as simple as her hair. 

Chloe, who was still a bit caught up in how cute her loving detective was, didn’t really think much of it when Connor pulled away from her lips and started trailing soft kisses along her cheek. It just made her laugh shyly, shrinking a bit into herself as an attempt to hide her bashful expression. It wasn’t until he had made his way to her neck that she froze, his hand that had been in her hair slowly running down along her curves until he reached her thigh. The realization of what Connor was attempting finally hit her as he lifted her leg up, pulling her body a bit more snugly against himself. 

Chloe took a thin, whispy breath, somehow already growing weak when she felt his teeth grazing at the skin of her collarbone. Yet, at the same time, the girl couldn’t help but feel worried again. It was only moments ago that he had been nearly hysterical, and now he was suddenly making a move on her? That didn't seem right for him. Or anyone, for that matter. 

The girl was trying so, so hard not to get too seduced by him, still worried about his well-being, but she couldn’t help it. The way he was torturously slowing his pace on his way back up to her lips was making her woozy a bit too quickly. He sent shudders down her spine every time his kisses lingered, produced soft whimpers from her throat when he nipped at her skin, her breathing growing more and more labored while her hands gripped desperately at the back of his shirt. It really didn’t take much for Chloe to want him, and Connor knew that. This might be the first time she's ever seen him take advantage of that fact. Again, something that wasn't normal at all for him.

But, if she was being honest, she found herself caring less and less by the second, the only thing on her mind being how desperately she just wanted to be making out with him already, to put it bluntly. Chloe would’ve sped things up by grabbing him by his hair and kissing him herself, but she probably couldn't even try. Connor had her holding back moans just by simple touches, his hand running along the small of her back, the underside of her thigh, the back of her neck, all the right places that drive her crazy. She wouldn't be surprised if he'd memorized the reactions she had in the handful of times they'd been physically intimate, adapting his techniques to the most positive reactions she had.

Just one of the many, many perks of having a detective boyfriend.

Eventually, he had finally made his way back up to her jawline, his soft breaths blowing heat onto her skin and finally drawing a moan out of her, the ache to kiss him becoming overwhelming.

“Connor p-please,” Chloe whined impatiently, her fingers slipping through his hair and tugging at it needily. That small, simple action must’ve set something off in him, because he completely abandoned his sadistically slow pace, his lips suddenly crashing back onto her’s with next to no warning. The hold his arms had around her tightened nearly twice as much, his entire body going rigid from how hard he started kissing her.

Chloe didn't even kiss him back for a few seconds, too shocked by how abrupt and unexpected that was. The surprise only survived for so long, however, the relief of finally getting what she wanted making her knees collapse in on themselves. She let Connor hold pretty much all of her weight, more than happily returning his passions as she let herself become completely lost in him.

For ten seconds, anyway.

“Connor?” Hank’s awkward tone of voice sounded from the other side of the door along with a firm knock, sending them both to a screeching halt and freezing in their respective positions. “You uh… You got a second? Are you busy?”

A long, tired sigh came from the young Android as he pulled away from Chloe, his grip on her relaxing while he let go of their rather provocative positions. He instead held her in a simple hug, putting his face in her shoulder stubbornly.

“Go away, Hank,” Connor’s agitated call was muffled by the sleeve of her dress, his hand finding her hair again and rubbing the strands in his fingertips. Meanwhile, Chloe had just barely started coming down from the hormonal high from seconds ago, catching her breath while she slowly returned the hug. Hank’s slightly exasperated sigh made her frown, glancing back towards the door for a few moments, almost curiously.

“It sounds like he’s serious,” the girl whispered to Connor, a bit reluctant sounding herself while she nuzzled the side of his head. “It would probably be a good idea to go talk with him.”   
  
“Connor, seriously, this is important,” Hank insisted just after Chloe spoke, confirming what she just said. A few seconds of silence went by before he finally made a brief sound of irritation, pulling away from their embrace unenthusiastically. The boy took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead for a brief second before he finally let go of her, trudging his way back to the door and opening it a bit sharply. As Chloe watched him go, she caught a quick glimpse of Hank, who’s gloomy expression made her crash back down into her previous state of worry and confusion. Was Hank involved with the case too..?

The very moment Connor shut the door behind him, Chloe ran up to it and placed her ear on the wood, eavesdropping in a desperate attempt to find some answers.

“You okay?-”

“I’m fine, Hank,” Connor’s sharp remark nearly cut the Lieutenant off, a brief silence rifting between the two of them as a result.

“... You know, I could talk to Fowler,” Hank continued, his voice calm and surprisingly sympathetic. “I might be able to convince him to transfer you to another case.” 

“No. I’ll do what I’ve been assigned.”

“You know that’s  _ really _ not a good idea-”   
  
“I’m  _ doing  _ this case, Hank. End of story. I’m not going to ask to do something else just because I may not be comfortable with it. I’m  _ not  _ going to be treated like a  _ child.”  _

There was a sound of a door being shut firmly, followed by a defeated sigh from Hank. She thought she might’ve heard him mumble something like “Drama Queen” before there was complete silence, leaving the air in the entire house heavy and uneasy. 

Chloe waited a minute or two before going outside of her room, not wanting to leave right away and make it obvious that she was listening in. When she felt enough time had passed, she quietly slipped out through the door, tiptoeing her way to the living room where she saw Hank slumped over on the couch, resting his chin in one hand while the other gently pet Sumo’s head. The dog was sitting in front of him obediently, panting softly in content at the attention he was receiving.

Carefully, Chloe approached the two, slowly sitting down next to the man on the couch, placing her hands in her lap and sitting up straight, obviously a bit tense. 

“... Hank,” she spoke softly, closing her eyes and hanging her head a bit in preparation for what she might hear. “What’s wrong with Connor…?

“It’s… This new case he’s working on,” Hank sounded even more morose than he looked, running his hand down his face and huffing a bit. “It’s… Bad. Real bad. It fucked me up for hours after I came back from the crime scene… Connor took it even worse,” his tone got quieter and quieter as he went on until it was barely a whisper, now hiding his face in his hands and shaking his head. “I tried to convince everyone to not show him the pictures, but… The bastards did anyway.” The man scoffed in what was now contempt, letting his hands fall back to Sumo who had started whining from the lack of affection being provided.

“He… Wasn’t okay. For a while,” Hank continued, a slight struggle sounding in his voice, almost as if he were trying to keep it steady. “I… I actually thought he was gonna quit from how upset he got. Luckily he just decided to come home early instead.”

Chloe’s heart sank more and more upon hearing Hank’s explanation, looking back to Connor’s room where he had locked himself up and trying not to tear up again. The sorrow she felt for her loving detective sunk like a rock to the bottom of her stomach, her expression becoming a bit pained the heavier it got.

Suddenly, she finally noticed that Hank had never said anything specific about the case. It stood out to her because the entire time she’s lived here, Hank would always,  _ always  _ tell her everything about  _ every  _ case he worked on. Speaking aloud about it always helped him think things through more thoroughly, and as a result he was usually able to connect clues together that he wasn’t able to before. Chloe normally wouldn’t even say anything. She’d just sit quietly and listen to him explain what he was stuck on, what he was frustrated about, and complain about Fowler “being a piece of shit.” She had honestly grown rather fond of watching his face light up when he figured something out, so proud of himself and bragging about how he “still got it.” 

But now, Hank was purposefully avoiding describing a single detail about this case in particular. And while Connor had already told Chloe what the case entailed, the fact that Hank wouldn’t talk about it at all sent an entire new wave of fear down her back. 

“... This is the case about the Android who was… Hollow, right?” Chloe spoke timidly, looking over at the man beside her falteringly. 

“He told you!?” Hank’s head suddenly whipped around to look at the girl, his eyes widening in utter shock. “Seriously!? I- I would’ve thought you’d be way more fucked up about it!”

“... I really don’t think he told me everything...” Chloe was nearly whimpering by now, gathering the fabric of her dress in her fists while her breath becoming a bit unsteady from how scared she was getting. Hank quickly saw how confused she was, causing him to groan in irritation, falling back onto the couch and glaring at the ceiling for a second.

“‘Course. He told you everything except the most important part,” he mumbled to himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to collect himself before forcing his eyes to drift back to Chloe again. 

“Look… I didn’t want to tell you, but… You’ll probably see it on the news tomorrow anyway,” the man paused again, visibly gathering the strength he needed for what he was about to say. 

“The Android that was murdered… Was one of the RT600 models,” Hank’s voice wavered for a second, his expression cringing and his face turning away to hide it from the now completely and utterly paralyzed girl. 

“The body… She… She had  _ your  _ face, Chloe.”


	2. Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Just a heads up, the second half of this chapter is NSFW. I marked where it starts with a page break. (Sorry, I got a little too self-indulgent.)

_She’s okay. She’s okay. She’s alive. She’s here. She’s not hurt. She’s okay. She’s okay._

No matter how many times he repeated it in his own head, Connor couldn’t seem to get rid of the horrible, horrible image that was scorched into his mind. He sat on the edge of his bed, gritting his teeth with his face in his hands, mentally straining himself with how hard he was trying to purge the horrific memory of earlier that day. But he couldn't. He just couldn't. Every time he thought he might have finally started calming down, it'd just slam back into him at full force out of nowhere. Why was it still so upsetting to him!? He was holding Chloe in his arms meer minutes ago, so why couldn't he stop reliving the brief moment when he thought she was dead!? It was only for a second, too, until Hank jumped in at the last second and told him it wasn't Chloe.

His lack of mental control was infuriating, only rubbing salt in the raw, bleeding wound that was his emotions right now. He groaned in frustration, curling into himself and pulling at his hair. It was embarrassing enough having an uncontrollable breakdown in front of Hank and the entire DPD, let alone _Chloe._

He just wanted to yell at himself to _snap out_ of it.

_Just snap out of it!_

But it wouldn't go away. It just wouldn't. It got to the point where he was seconds away from slapping himself in the face, when Hank's voice shouting from the other room interrupted his spiraling.

"No, Chloe, don't! Leave him-" 

Before the man could finish, the door to Connor's bedroom abruptly slammed open, making him jump out of his stupor. He only managed to catch a flash of blonde hair before he suddenly fell backwards onto the bed, completely unprepared when Chloe tackled him.

"Chloe!?" Connor scrambled to put his arms around her, only getting more disoriented now that she was gripping him for dear life and hiding her face in his neck. She didn't say or explain anything, as she was almost as much of a mess as he was now. He did eventually manage to get a secure hold on her, but as soon as he did, his heart dropped in dismay, realizing how hard her chest was heaving from how much she was holding back sobs.

"Chloe…" his attempt at sounding comforting was sincere, but it only made things worse with how weak his voice was, still catching his breath from the battle with himself he was having. In fact, it actually caused her to finally let out a single, heavy sob before she caught herself again, squeezing him even tighter and taking shuddering, deep breaths.

Connor mentally stabbed himself for that, deciding to just shut up before he made things even worse. Hesitantly, he kissed the top of her head, keeping his face in her hair and closing his eyes slowly, a wave of relief flowing through him when he felt her body gradually beginning to still.

He himself let out a silent sigh, his thumb running along the skin of her arm softly as they both began relaxing in sync. Having Chloe in his arms again _finally_ started to douse the fire within himself, and knowing that she was calming down from whatever the hell made her this upset evened out his breathing. Soon it was to the point where she was able to mimic the rise and fall of his chest, her grip on him slacking and her tears all but fading away.

Once he felt they had both been calm for long enough, Connor brought them both up to a sitting position, but maintained their embrace. He was a little surprised at himself when a small smile appeared on his face, once again amazed with how quickly Chloe could not only make him calm, but content in a heartbeat. Just being in the same room as her was enough to improve his mood one way or another, what with her golden glow that he swore made the entire area around her warmer. 

Hank tried to warn Connor that he was in what was called a “Honeymoon phase.” And that while they would definitely still be just as in love if they constantly kept working at their relationship, it would feel different soon, but to not be worried if it does. The young Android honestly had no idea what that meant, but also didn’t really care. The way he felt about Chloe was different. Different than anything else he’d felt for anyone. He just wanted her to always be close, to always hear her voice, to always be surrounded by her glowing brilliance. He could hardly imagine feeling any different about his dove. After all, it’s been an entire month and nothing had changed. He was still-

“-So in love with you.”

He didn’t even realize he whispered that last part out loud, perceiving it as only a thought he had as he planted quick kisses down the side of her head. His heart melted straight through his rib cage when Chloe giggled from his affections, drawing out a happy hum from the young man. 

“Connor, you’re just trying to seduce me again,” while her voice was soft and subtle, there was no trace of sadness or fear anymore.

“Hmmm, is it working?” He asked slyly, Chloe’s laugh only becoming louder when she felt his mischievous smile grow against her cheek.

“Hmmm, maybe?” She spoke in the exact same tone Connor had used, placing her forehead against his own and giving him a playfully innocent look. It actually managed to make him laugh quietly once or twice, taking her face in his hands and giving her a soft, loving kiss for a brief moment. 

“Are you alright..?” He asked just after he pulled away, concern more than apparent in his words now, looking over her darling face carefully. “What happened? Why were you crying?” 

The young Android had almost been afraid to ask before, but he couldn’t just pretend that didn’t happen, even if they were both feeling better. Whatever happened was definitely more on the extreme side if it was enough to make Chloe hold back her tears like that. She actually didn’t cry that often at all. In fact, she was almost always cheerful, really only getting upset enough to produce tears from fear and worry. 

Sadly, Chloe’s smile started fading away when he asked, her gaze dropping down from Connor’s eyes and her posture sinking just a bit. He waited patiently for her answer, his hands subconsciously finding her hair again and twirling a lock between his fingers delicately. 

“... You didn’t tell me.”

Before Connor even had the chance to ask what she meant, he answered his own question almost immediately. His gentle gaze quickly twisted into an aggravated glare, his jaw locking into place as his eyes wandered to his bedroom door.

“Hank wasn’t… Supposed to tell you…” His words were so deliberate and steady that it actually made it obvious that he was forcing himself to not get too angry. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, taking a second to gather himself before continuing.

“... I knew you’d be scared if I told you,” Connor began to explain, opening his eyes again to see that she thankfully wasn’t in tears again. Just… Disappointed, it seemed. “It wasn’t something that was vital for you to know about. I swear I wasn’t trying to belittle you or treat you like a child. I just…” His voice abruptly got caught in his throat, his face paling again and his breath tumbling out of his lungs when the image of the eyeless, vacant corpse flashed through his head again. 

“... I didn’t want you to feel… This,” he managed to whisper, his gaze at Chloe’s face intensifying while he tried as hard as he could to replace that memory with the vibrant, _more_ than alive girl he was seeing now. 

“Connor…” Chloe sighed, slowly pulling him into a gentle hug and kissing his cheek comfortingly. “I’m… I'm glad you were thinking about me. I’ll be fine soon, but… Please be more honest with me,” he fully expected her to be mad, but as he wrapped his arms around her in return, she actually sounded more defeated than anything. “Don’t… Don’t hide the truth if you can help it, please..?” 

“Yes,” the young Android sighed in relief that she wasn’t nearly as upset as he thought she’d be, nodding in agreement with her reasonable request and resting his forehead on her shoulder. “Yes, I will. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.” 

The tension he felt from that minor case of confrontation all but disappeared when Chloe made a small sound of relief, petting at his hair as she murmured a tiny “I love you.” The words made a wave of warmth completely wash over Connor, his breath starting to shake a bit while his arms began to pull away from her waist, almost automatically moving them upwards to pull her into a kiss.

“Why were you trying to have sex with me earlier?” 

Before Connor could even get his hands to her face, every muscle in his body locked up when Chloe asked her question in such a nonchalant way, his eyes shooting open and his heart skipping a few beats. She hadn’t moved at all, still hugging him fondly and petting his hair like it was nothing. You’d think that he’d get used to how blunt the girl was at times, especially when it came to things like intimacy, but it somehow always caught him off guard. Every single time.

“Ah-” He stuttered, abandoning his attempt to kiss her and just putting his arms around her again. “I- I uh…”

The poor boy had no idea how to explain it to her; how to say that he wanted to just… Feel her. After experiencing the absolutely horrendous feeling of seeing her cold, lifeless, literally empty face, he wanted to really _feel_ that she was alive. To have the indescribable energy flow between the two of them, to be connected in the harmonious movements of their bodies, to see the way her luminance grew nearly tenfold when she was in a state of ecstacy, to just… Really _know_ that she was filled to the brim with life.

But that’d be just embarrassing to admit. 

“You were…” Connor kept trying, despite being fully aware that he was starting to look like an idiot at this point. “I just felt like… There was…”

“Did you still want to?”

Once again being shocked into utter speechlessness, the young Android held his breath when Chloe finally pulled back to look over his completely bewildered, wide-eyed expression. Her eyebrows were raised in inquiry, her lips parted slightly as she ran a hand down his chest almost lazily. It instantly made Connor’s pulse start hammering like drums in his ears, a hot, electric match striking in the pit of his stomach while his breath was practically sucked out of him.

The word “yes” was already starting to bubble up in his throat, meer seconds away from spilling out of his mouth. But before he even had the chance to say it, the girl pressed her fingers down through the middle of his shoulder blades, the corner of her mouth twitching into a mischievous half smile, knowing _exactly_ what she just did.

A weak, trembling half gasp, half moan forced its way into Connor’s lungs, his head lulling backwards slightly as his entire body shuddered so badly that he almost lost his hold on Chloe. Luckily, she was able to keep herself steady, moving in time with him so that she could press her body against his, a pleased hum from the girl vibrating right next to his ear at what she had accomplished so easily. 

The boy managed to gather enough strength to lift his head back up, his eyelids only opening halfway from how dazed he was now. Unfortunately, the first thing his sights landed on was the door to his bedroom hanging wide open, causing some vague thought of them not being alone to float in the back of his head somewhere.

“Chloe…” He breathed, gesturing towards the door half-heartedly. “Hank… Hank is…”

He felt her deflate a bit in his arms, frowning upon realizing that he was right. Her eyes flicked between the open door and Connor, seeming reluctant to have to get up and let go of him. 

Then, out of absolutely nowhere, Chloe _moaned_ as loud as she could, slapping Connor out of his lust-filled haze and making him jump. It was so artificial, so completely obviously not real in the way she vocalized it that there was no way Hank would think anything was _actually_ going on between them.

“Connor!” She cried out in the exact same tone, punching the boy square in the chest from hearing his name like that. His entire head flushed into a bright blue glow, quickly hiding his face in his hands from how unbelievably flustered he suddenly was. 

“You don’t need to put on a show,” an exhausted, but surprisingly not that irritated sigh came from the other room, a few incoherent grumbles following shortly after. “Just ask for me to leave, jesus _christ_. I’ll just... Take Sumo for a walk or somethin’.” 

Just after the man uttered the word “walk,” an excited string of deep barks followed Hank outside, the house going quiet as the front door shut firmly, leaving the two completely alone.

“... That worked better than I thought it would,” Chloe mused, turning her attention back to the bashful mess in front of her, giggling upon seeing how severely the poor boy had reacted to it. 

“I’m sorry, Connor. That was a bit ridiculous of me.” She kissed his forehead when she apologized, bringing his hands down away from his face and smiling reassuringly at him. “I’m sure that’s the last time we’ll have to-”

Chloe’s sentence was interrupted when she made a high pitched squeak, not expecting Connor to suddenly grab her by the waist and spin her around. He then let go of her so that she fell backwards onto his bed and climbed over top of her, the entire action taking only a single second from how fast he moved.

“You are… Something else,” his voice had dropped an entire octave along with his now rather carnal expression, his hands gliding up her arms to her hands, pressing them into the mattress while he watched Chloe’s eyes widen in absolute shock. As absurd, embarrassing, and unnecessary her method of getting Hank to go away was, it still managed to set his entire core blazing with a roaring fire, his brain buzzing from the adrenaline-like rush he just had as he leaned down dangerously close to her lips. 

It was Chloe’s turn to have her cheeks turn a vibrant shade of blue, breathing out a stuttering whimper from experiencing this different side of Connor that neither of them knew he had. Her mouth hung open just below his lips, every breath she took completely audible with how hot and bothered she had become within just a few seconds.

“... So are you-” she barely had enough time to get her sentence out before he dove in and kissed her. And _god_ , did he kiss her, the fervency that went into it almost instantly pulling out a genuine, breathless moan from Chloe when she kissed him back desperately. _Now_ he gave himself permission to completely drown in her, to succumb into the trance-like state that was lust, to just feel _life_ around him. He let himself _feel_ her heartbeat, her frantic breathing, her skin, her body twisting and turning underneath him needily, the vibration of her voice against his mouth, her body heat beginning to mix with his own. He clung to anything, _anything_ that exuded life from Chloe. Because not only did it assure him that she definitely wasn’t dead, but it also made he himself feel so incredibly, overwhelmingly, undoubtedly, truly…

_Alive._

* * *

He was _so_ passionate _._

The amount of desire Connor emanated from what must’ve been his very soul was beyond intoxicating. Chloe was an entirely new level of drunk in the suffocating heat of their lovemaking, feeling like she was practically flying from the constant stream of deep affections that he provided to her. While every other time she’s been physical with him was magical and romantic in their own right, this untapped act of borderline worship of each other was something else all together. 

Normally Connor was fairly quiet, really only getting vocal when he was approaching his peak. But this was a _completely_ different story. His panting that was usually under a fair amount of control was huffing out of him so intensely you’d think he’d pass out. His strained moans that were usually reserved for particularly acute climaxes were now competing with Chloe’s for how consistent they were. He really didn’t swear all that often, only letting a harsh word slip when he had particularly strong feelings for something. But now he was grunting out curses left and right, something that was the role she normally played. 

And Chloe _loved_ it. She loved every single second he produced sounds of extreme pleasure. It was a luxury she thought she wouldn’t be able to indulge in like this. Just knowing that it was _her_ who was driving him this crazy, that _she_ was the one making him feel so good, that she had the ability to give him a feeling this extraordinary, it was almost too much for her to handle. 

And that was just from him being vocal, let alone the physical side of things.

Connor was almost constantly kissing and biting clumsily at her neck, only ever stopping to kiss her lips every once in a while. Chloe would normally think it was just another method he used to get her to crumble into pieces, knowing damn well how much it drove her wild. But this time it felt like it was something _he_ was craving, something that might’ve even given _him_ pleasure from doing it.

Every single inch of skin that he could reach on her was touched in one form or another, grabbing and stroking and groping at her as if he’d simply die if he didn’t. The feeling of his hands gliding absolutely everywhere on her body sent pins and needles endlessly down her spine, drawing heavy gasps out of her whenever he paid special attention to the extra sensitive spots that he’d memorized the exact locations of.

And his sex. Dear _god_ his sex. Chloe had never felt this kind of pleasure before in her entire life. Every thrust Connor drove into her went so far, so hard inside of her that the entire bed was rocking along with them. He was much, _much_ more rough than he usually was, but it was definitely more than welcome to her, the near mindlessness of it drawing her down further and further into her otherworldly state.

Euphoria didn’t even begin to describe how _good_ he felt inside of her, but her uncontrollable heavy moans and outcries might suffice as a description. She was honestly shocked that she had lasted this long, thinking she should’ve tipped over the edge within thirty seconds of Connor’s senseless fornication. Then again, maybe that’s the very reason why he had already gotten her off not just once, but twice before his pants had even come off.

Chloe wasn’t sure how it happened. Maybe he had shifted his angle a little, maybe her leg twisted into just the right position, but whatever the case, there was a moment where Connor managed to hit just the right spot inside of her, sending a shockwave through her entire body and making her vision go blurry when she involuntarily cried out his name, not really even processing that she said anything at all. 

“Connor..!”

A switch must’ve flipped in his head, a wall must’ve crumbled, alarm bells must’ve gone off, _something_ happened inside of himself that made any trace of self control he had completely disappear. He suddenly lifted himself up high enough that he could seize the headboard of the bed with one hand, now making it slam into the wall over and over again as he somehow drove her into the mattress even harder, grunting and groaning heavily as he did.

_Now_ Chloe felt herself rapidly climbing to a plateau, this new angle she had on him finally letting her fully see his face, revealing how truly lost he was in pleasure. That incredible, rare sight was more than enough to make her vocalizations abruptly cut out at nearly the exact same time as Connor, sharing the same brief moment where she _swore_ she was going to explode from the tension with him.

And then it all came down harder than a plane crash, managing to reach their absolute peaks at the same time. The sounds of their blissful, overstimulating gratification intertwined together poetically as they trembled and shook, orgasm pulsing through both of them more intensely than it ever, _ever_ had. 

They rocked their way through it together, slowly but surely settling down from their ethereal moment until they were both sprawled out on the bed. The two stayed like that for a minute or so, laying limp while they fought desperately to catch their breath that they technically didn't need.

After a few minutes of stillness, Connor, not yet fully recovered and shaking like a leaf, managed to gather enough strength to lift his head up above her. His messy, tangled hair brushed across her cheeks when he started placing slow, tender kisses all over her face. 

"I love you," Connor's whisper rasped heavily from how much he'd overused his voice, but it wasn’t quite rough enough to cover the heavy quivering that came along with his declaration to her. The severity of the emotions he was experiencing at that very moment became crystal clear to her when his hands reached up to her head, cradling her face and continuing on with his nearly breathless display of adoration.

It was this simple, yet so incredibly intimate action that caused Chloe's last remaining bit of composure to collapse. A single tear streamed down her face, as a small, almost delirious smile appeared along with it. She sniffled softly when Connor finally placed a kiss on her lips, bringing her arms up around him once more in loving embrace.

The young man pulled one hand away from her face, tilting her head up by her chin with the tips of his fingers while his thumb rubbed her cheek comfortingly. He pulled away, but only just enough so that their lips weren't connected, staying as close to her as he could.

"I love you, too," Chloe was surprised that she was able to speak so coherently, her eyes sliding shut and causing a few more tears of happiness to roll down her cheeks. Connor quietly brushed away her tears, a smile becoming audible in his gradually steadying breaths as his forehead fell gently against her own. 

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours. They didn't say anything, they didn't move, they didn't even really kiss. They simply wallowed in the afterglow of their love blissfully, letting it soak in to the bone. Not much else was needed than that, both Chloe and Connor perfectly content in the silence of the waning night. They almost forgot about what had happened not too much earlier that day, the only thing on their minds being the warmth, the love, the very _life_ that flowed between the two of them growing stronger and stronger every waking moment.


	3. Dreaming

An hour and a half. That seemed to be enough time, right? An hour and a half, Hank told himself, and he'd go back. He'd walk to the nearest food joint and get whatever the hell he wanted because Connor wasn't there to bicker about calories and sugar contents. He'd grab an extra hamburger for Sumo, walk  _ past _ the bar that was on the way back, and maybe go around the block once or twice just to be safe. 

And that’s exactly what he did. Almost to the tea. It ended up being more like an hour and fifteen minutes, but he was just being generous in the first place. He wouldn’t have even let them kick him out so easily if it weren’t for… Well, he just knew they needed alone time. He wasn’t  _ that  _ much of an asshole.

He stopped once he had stepped onto the front porch, hesitating for a second just as his hand landed on the doorknob. To be extra cautious, he put his ear against the front door, cringing a bit as he expected the worst. Thankfully, he only heard silence, making him exhale slowly in relief.

Wait.

He heard  _ nothing  _ coming from inside. No footsteps, no voices, nothing. Did they already leave to move Chloe’s stuff to her new place? That was a bit… Quick. Suspiciously quick.

Frowning a bit, he unhooked Sumo’s leash and opened the front door. The dog quickly made his way over to the living room and flopped down on the floor, exhausted from the little adventure they had. Hank, on the other hand, was cautiously making his way to Connor’s room, his footsteps light and nearly soundless as he approached the open door. He ducked behind the corner, peeking around the side and praying to god he wouldn’t see anything unsavory.

However, instead of finding them still making out or something, he was greeted by a sight he never really expected to see, his eyes widening in surprise.

They were asleep.

Wrapped up to their shoulders in blankets, Connor held Chloe in his arms from behind her. Both of their expressions were as peaceful and content as could be, their soft breaths in sync and the sheets around them glowing a dim blue from their exposed hearts. How sickeningly romantic.

“Crazy kids,” Hank shook his head, a half smile growing on his face with an amused humph. He shut the door quietly, giving them privacy during this significant moment in their lives. A burst of pride and joy swelled in his chest at the progress both Connor and Chloe were making together, surprisingly making a lump appear in his throat for the briefest of moments.

Jesus, these two were turning him into such a sap. 

If you talked to Hank before he met Connor, you would've  _ never  _ expected him to be in the place he was now. Instead of the bumbling, rude, depressed drunkard he'd been for years, he was getting up early in the mornings, his job performance had skyrocketed, and- especially since Chloe started living here- he had cut his drinking down to once, _ maybe _ twice a week. One or two of the local bars actually started asking other regulars if he was okay when he stopped showing up almost every day. And while the man wasn’t “cured” of his problems or destructive tendencies, it was most definitely under much more control.

However, Hank wasn’t the only one who was turning out for the better. In just the small amount of time Chloe had stayed with them, Connor’s anxiety and fidgety tendencies had all but disappeared. He never once said anything about his programming bothering him, and didn’t seem to show signs that it ever did. Every once in a while he’d start showing signs of nervousness or some mild form of panic, but Chloe would always step right in, clearing up any worries the boy might’ve had in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. 

The boy had always been quiet and reclusive, but Chloe seemed to draw out a more excited, upbeat personality out of him without even trying. He was much more talkative around her, almost as much as the average guy his age. Well… Mental age, anyway. He was also just happier in general, almost never having any episodes of being overwhelmed and confused by emotions. She was good for him, that much was clear.

Connor adored that girl to death, and she revered him just as much. Anyone could see that within ten seconds of them being in the same room together,  _ just  _ from how they looked at each other, let alone all the other mushy, nauseating displays of affection. They always found opportunities to sneak in cheek kisses and surprise each other with hugs. They were exactly what you would expect out of a young, first love.

And that's what made Hank concerned.

He himself was like that with all of the partners he had in the past, for the first month or so, anyway. Making it past the second "fighting" phase was hard. Really, really hard. A lot of relationships never got past it. Hank hoped to god Connor and Chloe would, because he really did want them to stay together. He'd honestly be heartbroken too if they ended up splitting up. But... Who knows? It's not like there was only a slim chance they'd make it. Hell, they might not even go through that phase at all. Hank was allowed to be optimistic, right..?

Then, as if fate decided to kick him in the ass, Hank's phone started ringing, making him jump out of his introspective state. He let out a long, tired sigh upon taking his phone out of his pocket and seeing "Captain Piss-For-Brains" on the screen. As he picked up the call and said "Anderson" into the receiver, he actually  _ hoped  _ this was about something else Hank had fucked up, and  _ not  _ about the demented case that was regretfully assigned to him.

"Hank, there's another body," Fowler's voice immediately punched the man in the gut, his eyes closing slowly and his heart sinking to the floor in dread. 

“... What’s the model?” He mumbled almost silently, holding his breath and expecting the worst as he put his hand over his face.

“It’s a WB200,” Fowler surprisingly didn’t sound as bitchy as he usually was. As a matter of fact, he actually sounded… Upset. “Other than that, it’s literally the exact same thing as the last one. The body’s in the same position, same wounds, it’s right by the same highway… We’ve  _ definitely  _ got a serial killer on our hands.”

Hank felt a wave of relief wash over him upon hearing a different model number, but immediately felt guilty about it. He really shouldn’t feel better when someone had just been murdered, but he couldn’t help but be glad that it wasn’t another Chl- … RT600. He looked back towards Connor’s room, frowning again at the thought of having to break it to him. He wouldn’t be  _ nearly  _ as upset this time, if at all, but… He really didn’t want to have to wake him up for an emergency call. 

“Hank? You still there?” Fowler once again surprised the man by not sounding irritated at his lack of response. Again, he actually sounded more sullen than anything. 

“... How long can you preserve the crime scene?” Was Hank’s only response, scratching the back of his head while his eyes stayed glued to Connor’s room.

“Well, you’re lucky Android’s bodies don’t go through rigor mortis or decomposition,” Fowler scoffed a bit in fake amusement. “I can keep the area surrounding it clear until the morning rush hour. So it’s gotta be investigated and cleared up by then, got it?” 

“Yeah, loud and clear,” Hank confirmed, looking at the clock on the wall and once again feeling a little better when he saw it was only 7:00PM. “It’ll be done. Don’t worry.”

“... Is he okay?” The Lieutenant froze upon hearing his words, shocked to hear the Captain ask about Connor’s wellbeing. Douche-McGee over here not only wanted to check up on the boy, but he had actually  _ worried  _ about him too? What the hell was going on in this city!?

“He’s… Better,” Hank flopped down on the couch and slumped over, squeezing his eyes shut and running a hand through his hair. “He’ll recover soon, I think. He’s definitely gonna be able to keep working on this case.”

“Good,” Fowler humphed, attempting to go back to his usual bossy attitude to save what little face he had left. “I’ll see ya at four or five.” 

“Yeah, yeah, you will,” the man hung up before the Captain could go any further, tossing his phone to the side and putting his face in his hands with a prolonged sigh of defeat. 

He’s been assigned to this case for only a day, and it was already starting to get to him. Yes, Android oppression was still high and they were getting murdered just as much, if not more than before they were classified as an intelligent species, but who in their right mind would go out of their way to kill them… Like  _ that?  _ There had to be something more to this. No one would go through that much work  _ just _ out of hatred for Androids. No, someone was trying to intimidate everyone; trying to send a message. 

A message that made Hank fear for the lives of his family.

* * *

Chloe let out a soft half-sigh as she began rousing from her restful state, her face twisting into a small frown from the sudden onset of unpleasant grogginess that bogged down her head. Her legs shifted a little under the sheets while she got her bearings, her eyes fluttering open and making the room slowly appear in her vision.

She was moments away from shutting her eyes again, an instinctual need to go back into an unconscious state almost overtaking her. But before Chloe could let herself slip away, the realization she just had slapped her awake, her eyes widening in shock.

Had she just been… Sleeping..?

She turned her head to look behind her, all but confirming her suspicions when she saw Connor still fast asleep. He moved his arms slightly from Chloe fidgeting around so much, but was completely still after that, his rest remaining uninterrupted. She found herself unable to hold back an adoring smile upon seeing how sweet he looked in this state; his tangled hair in his face, his tranquil expression, his steady, silent breaths. She almost couldn't bring herself to wake him up, not wanting to interrupt him when he was so calm; but she couldn't really ignore what just happened for the sake of rest.

"Connor," she whispered urgently, nudging his shoulder gently and trying not to be too rough with him. The girl huffed a little in irritation when all she got from him was a quiet sound in the back of his throat and brief head movement, not even remotely awake yet.

_ "Connor,"  _ Chloe spoke louder now, shaking him a little harder. She finally began coaxing him out of his slumber when he squeezed his arms around her a bit tighter. His low hum he made vibrated on the back of her neck as he buried his face in her hair, clearly not a hundred percent coherent yet. She faltered for a moment again from how cute that was, briefly considering just leaving him be. After all, it wasn't like she'd complain if they ended up just cuddling for the rest of the night. 

But if Chloe was being honest with herself… She was a little scared. Did this mean she'd have to sleep  _ every day _ now? That half of her life would be stolen from her because she was suddenly a little  _ too  _ human? That she'd have to deal with feeling tired when she  _ doesn't _ sleep? 

That sounded like an absolute nightmare.

In one more effort to wake Connor up in a gentle manner, she wiggled around so that she could turn to face him, the movement causing the young man to make the same irritated expression she had only moments ago. He started to get a sense of where he was while his eyes slowly squinted open, hypersensitive to the low lighting of the lamp on the bedside table.

When Chloe could finally see the dark, gorgeous hue of his eyes, she slid her hands up to hold his face, stroking her thumbs against his cheeks in the hopes it would fully wake him up. Connor's gaze snapped to her as she did, a small, tired, almost delirious smile forming upon seeing her face. A few seconds passed before the realization finally hit him, his expression dropping and his breath seizing in his chest from the sudden surprise. Again, almost the exact same reaction she had.

"... Did-"

"Yeah," Chloe confirmed his question before he could even finish, nodding half-heartedly and letting her hands fall away from his face. "Yeah, I was sleeping too…"

Connor still looked just as confused as he slowly sat up in his bed, glancing over at the clock and flinching a little when he saw how much time had passed. Chloe followed suit, pulling the blankets over her chest and watching him attentively, hoping he could somehow think of a way to get out of this.

The young man’s brow furrowed ever so slightly, as it always did when he was thinking through something thoroughly. For a second she thought he might’ve been onto something from the way his eyes darted around the room, but he ultimately just ended up running a hand down his face, deflating with a long sigh of defeat.

“... That’s going to be a problem,” he mumbled, making Chloe slouch over in disappointment. Great. There really was no way around this, was there? Every night now.  _ Every night  _ they’d have to sleep for  _ hours.  _ She’d always felt pity for humans that they had to deal with something as inconvenient as sleep, and now  _ she  _ was the one being unwillingly subjected to it. 

The poor girl put her face in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut, only getting more and more frustrated when she realized how much of her life she’d have to change to work around this. While the hours at her job wouldn’t change, practically everything else that she did would. She’d only have half the amount of time to do her gardening, to read her books, to spend time with-

A sudden pang struck through Chloe’s heart at the revelation she just had, making her take in a sharp breath. She wouldn’t spend  _ nearly  _ as much time with Connor anymore. The night time is when they always spent the most time together. They never had to worry about being interrupted, what with half of the city being shut down and everyone locked away in their houses. And now that was being taken away from her. Would they have time to ballroom dance to Hank’s records? Would they have enough energy to get up early and watch the sunrise together? Would they have even  _ less  _ opportunities to make love than they already had?

It was Chloe’s turn to start spiraling now, her shoulders beginning to shake from how upset she was making herself. However, Connor spotted how troubled she was and quickly slid his arms around her in an attempt to calm her down a bit before she was too far gone.

“We’ll be fine,” he reassured her in a low whisper, kissing her cheek and managing to draw out a small, weak smile from the girl, her hands falling away from her face while she leaned into him. “I promise.” 

Chloe nodded slightly, a little relieved as she returned the gentle hug. She had no doubt in her mind that he was right. They'd be able to work it out if they tried hard enough, which was almost certainly going to be the case. She loved him enough that she’d crawl through hell for him, let alone get through something as trivial as this.

Their embrace was cut short, however, when Connor became exceptionally still. Unnaturally still. Chloe didn't even need to see his face to know he’d spotted something out of place, practically able to hear the gears in his head beginning to turn as he processed whatever "evidence" he might've found.

"... Hank's back," he stated after a few seconds, letting go of Chloe and jumping out of bed. He had already thrown on half of his clothes before she even processed what that meant, heading towards the door before he had even buttoned up his shirt all the way.

"Wait, what's wrong?" The young girl swung her legs off of the bed and watched him with wide eyes, clutching the blanket around her even tighter from the sudden nervousness she felt.

"There's a new development in the case," was the only thing Connor said before he closed the bedroom door behind him, leaving a bewildered Chloe behind. It took her a second to put the entire sentence together in her head, but once she did, she sprung to her feet, following his lead and quickly putting her clothes back on before hurrying out the door.

"... Didn't have more than one, did you?" She just barely caught the end of Connor's sentence as she peeked around the corner into the kitchen. Hank was sitting in his chair at the table, his face in his hands and a bottle of something she couldn't recognize placed in front of him. Connor was facing away from her, looming over the man with his arms folded disapprovingly. 

"... Maybe two," Hank mumbled almost incoherently, sinking more into himself when Connor sighed tiredly.

"You're lucky you have such a high tolerance," the young man shook his head in disappointment as he spoke. "You can't just drink every time there's a bad case, Hank."

"... How the everliving hell did you know this was about the case!?" Hank finally looked up at the young Android, squinting at him suspiciously at his apparent ability to read minds.

"I saw the bedroom door was closed. It was open before you left, so I knew you were home," Connor started to explain, sounding a bit exasperated at this point. "I started listening out for you, and heard you open that bottle. You don't drink at night if you can help it anymore, so I knew something upsetting must've happened. The most likely reason would be another-” 

His sentence was abruptly cut off, his voice catching in his throat from what must’ve been another flashback to the body he saw. Chloe felt a sudden pang in her chest too, despair beginning to catch her by the throat and constrict her breathing. No. No, no, no, no, no, not another one of her sist-

“It’s not an RT600,” Hank interjected, instantly making both her and Connor visibly relax. “It’s a WB200. Remember that guy we chased on the rooftops? One of him.”   
  
The poor boy made an audible exhale of relief, bracing himself on the back of one of the chairs as the tension in the room subsided. Chloe felt herself being able to breathe again too. Thank  _ god _ . Not only was she spared of processing another death in the family, which she was pretty sure she was still in deep denial about, but Connor wouldn’t have to be traumatized like that again.

“... Chloe, you don’t have to hide,” Connor called out over his shoulder out of nowhere, making her shrink back a little in embarrassment for a moment. How long had he known she was there!? Oh, who was she kidding. He knew about it the second she walked out the door.

Holding her arm behind her back, she timidly stepped out of the shadows, keeping her eyes mostly on the floor to avoid looking at the two men in front of her. However, her self-consciousness wasn’t necessary at all, as made apparent when Connor turned to look at her and gave her a small, reassuring smile, the lights in his eyes that had disappeared from the previous events beginning to glisten again. That in itself was enough to make Chloe feel a lot better, giving him a semi-cheerful look in return.

“God, will you two ever stop giving each other goo-goo eyes for a half a goddamn second?” Hank’s interjection was harsh, but he was smiling as he said it, shaking his head and screwing the lid back on the bottle of what she now realized was whiskey. He shoved it to the side, now sitting up straight and looking between them with a smug, half-grin on his face. 

“... You know you two were sleeping, right?” Strangely enough, Hank actually sounded… Happy. He was happy that they had to deal with something as tedious as this!? Both Chloe and Connor must’ve made the same defeated expression, because Hank raised his hands in defence, leaning back a bit in his chair. 

“Jesus, sorry I brought it up,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes before rising slowly out of his seat. “Thought you guys would’ve been happy about that... 

“Anyway, Connor, Fowler said that we only have a few hours left to investigate the crime scene. Tuck in your shirt and meet me in the car. And  _ don’t  _ get distracted.” Hank’s tone was once again clearly facetious, but it still succeeded in making Connor glare at the Lieutenant as he shuffled out the door. Meanwhile, Chloe actually laughed faintly at his jest. It’s true, they did get… Sidetracked much too often.

She then took a few steps towards her love, reaching out and gently taking his hands in her own. The girl’s fingertips began to turn to a soft white, the color quickly spreading across his palms in a more than accepting response to her caring touch. 

“Will you be alright?” She asked quietly, genuine concern crossing her face when she looked up at him meekly. She didn’t have much time to feel worried, though, because he squeezed at her hands comfortingly, swooping down and giving her a soft, brief kiss.

“I will. I promise,” he murmured his second vow to her that day as he pulled away, an adorable smile growing across his expression. Chloe allowed herself to let out a sigh of contentment at his reassurance, feeling a bit of weight come off of her shoulders. Of course he’d be fine. After all, on top of being so talented, kind, smart, and caring, he  _ was  _ the most advanced Android  _ ever  _ created. 


	4. Perfect Crime

“Well,  _ someone  _ looks a little tired.”   
  
Connor stopped in his tracks when he heard the sneering voice behind him, closing his eyes slowly and taking a long, deep breath through his nose. He honestly wasn’t sure how much of Gavin he could put up with today. Because he was right, the poor boy was completely exhausted. He had walked into the crime scene with his eyes sunken in and his shoulders slouched over uncharastically. So much so that it made everyone around them stop in their tracks when he and Hank stepped out of the car; including the obnoxious excuse of a detective that was Reed. 

Yet, despite his weariness making him much more easily irritated than usual, Connor managed to walk past Gavin without looking up from the ground, Hank following just behind him protectively. But, of course, it only agitated Reed that he was being ignored, a brief scowl crossing his face before he started following beside Connor.    
  
“Is it because of your little tantrum you had?” He continued as if he hadn’t just been brushed off, smirking over at the young android, who was now beginning to glare at the pavement. “Was cryin’ over some pictures too much for you to handle? Hm?”    
  
“Fuck off, Reed,” Hank hissed at the younger man, walking up closer to Connor and blocking Gavin off from him. The detective looked utterly offended, ceasing his following and holding his hands up defensively.   
  
“God, I was gonna offer him some coffee, Hank!” He scoffed, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. "Thought it might make him feel a little better. After all, who  _ wouldn't _ be upset after seeing your girlfriend like- Oh, wait. You can't drink coffee," Gavin made an exaggerated grimace as he sucked in air through his teeth. "Sorry, pretty boy."

The second Reed said "girlfriend," Connor halted mid-stride, his heart dropping straight to the bottom of his stomach as he whipped his head around to Hank. Fear made his eyes widen half a second before he caught himself, managing to give the man a confused look instead.

Hank had agreed with Connor to keep his relationship with Chloe confidential outside of their home. Not only for reasons such as unbearable people like Gavin, but because they didn't want to drag her into any danger that might come along with police work. Now the one person they  _ specifically  _ avoided talking about their home life around was suddenly bringing up that he was in a relationship? Not only that, but Reed knew who she was? He seriously doubted Hank would let something slip, so how the hell did he find out!?

Hank was just as befuddled as Connor was, slowly turning back to Reed with an accusing, "what the fuck are you talking about" look. The younger man snorted in response, a proud, aggravating grin crawling into his face as he shrugged.

"Everyone tends to forget that I'm a detective too, y'know," he humphed smugly. "You've been coming into work with lipgloss on your cheek every fuckin' day for the past three weeks. You don’t even _try_ to hide the hickeys on your neck. You're always staring at the exit impatiently towards the end of your shift. You're always out the door _exactly_ by five. It's obvious you were goin' home to someone."

Connor- who was so shocked at this point that he couldn't even hide it- put a few fingers to his cheek to find that he did indeed have clear, glistening makeup residue on his skin. How…  _ How  _ did he never notice that!? Him, who noticed _ everything _ , somehow never realized that there was something on his face!?

"Now, what stumped me was if they were a boy or a girl," Gavin continued, still just _ so proud _ of himself while he held his head up high. "That was, until this morning. You've _ never _ freaked the fuck out that badly the whole time you've worked here. You gave  _ yourself _ away doing that. Practically the whole DPD knows about-"

"Why have you been watching Connor so closely, huh?" Hank once again stepped in between the two, gently pushing the young Android back away from Reed as his tone became much more hostile. "Why can't you take your eyes off of him? You getting a little crush there, kid?" 

"He  _ wishes," _ Gavin chuckled in amusement, shaking his head as he pulled out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket. "At least there's only  _ one _ of me. You wouldn't confuse me as some random-ass body on the street. Guess it shows just how much you  _ think _ you care about her-"

You could practically hear the  _ snap _ that went off in Connor's head from Gavin's insults, a white hot raging fire combusting in his chest and shooting down his arms. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white before he whipped around towards Gavin, his head flying so fast you’d think his neck would’ve broken. The Android's sudden livid glare in of itself was enough to make Reed nearly drop his lighter in surprise.

How dare he.

How  _ dare  _ he speak of Chloe like that?

How  _ dare  _ he say that he didn't care about the love of his life!?

_ How. Dare. He!? _

Connor's self control completely disintegrated as he started barreling towards the detective, his arm already reeled back to give Gavin a punch he wouldn't soon forget, most likely making him lose a tooth. Or two. Or three. But just as Reed started taking a defensive stance, already ready to fight back, Hank managed to grab Connor's arm just in time, yanking him backwards forcefully.

"Connor!" He hissed, pulling the boy back even harder when he tried to resist. "Do  _ not  _ assault an officer! You're just giving him the attention he wants! You _ know _ this prick will press charges if you hit him!"

Connor’s brow furrowed even more when he realized that Hank was right, his fingers slowly releasing themselves as he forced the muscles in his arm to relax. He pulled himself out of Hank's grasp, taking a second to regain some composure, albeit begrudgingly. He then straightened out his posture and adjusted his tie, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths as Hank began to lead him away from the smug detective.

  
“He’s hitting you where you’re weak. Think about it,” Hank spoke under his breath over Gavin shouting gloating remarks at Connor to add insult to injury. “Would you honestly be this upset were he talking about anyone else but Chloe? And  _ don’t  _ say me,” the man interjected the second Connor opened his mouth, causing him to snap it back shut and remain silent. The only response the poor boy gave was his gaze dropped to the ground again, clenching his teeth and keeping their walk up to the crime scene silent.

They both ducked under the police tape, Chris coming over the second he saw the two and filling them in. Hank nodded and watched as the officer explained what they found, but Connor’s attention was completely glued to the body that had been marked off on the side of the street.   
  
It was so much worse in person. 

The body of the poor WB200 was distorted beyond belief, yet at the same time was so precisely put together, you’d think a surgeon did it. The naked body’s chest was caved in and his limbs were bent and twisted in unnatural, disturbing ways due to the skeletal structure being completely removed. A gaping, empty hole sat in the middle of his chest where his therium pump used to be, exposing the inside of his body and showing how truly vacant it was. A single, perfect, nearly microscopic line of sutures stretched all the way along his torso, obviously where the killer had cut him open to perform his demented operation. 

It wasn’t until just then that Connor saw that the killer had purposefully kept the skull intact, keeping the head still properly shaped to display what was most definitely the worst part of it all. The face. Yes, there were no teeth and no tongue to be found in his mouth that was unhinged in what was now an eternal scream, but the eyes were by far the most horrific part of all. Eyeless, pitch black sockets that seemed to stretch impossibly far inside his head, going on and on for eternity. There was a void there that seemed to go beyond that, however. Something else that was missing. Something that didn’t have a physical form, yet had definitely resided in this living being. What resided in everyone. In Hank, in Chloe, even Connor himself. 

  
The very soul of this boy had somehow been stripped from his body.

Unable to stop himself, Connor found his thoughts beginning to spiral again, squeezing his eyes shut as his mind ran rampant with paranoia. Not only was this crime grotesque and horrific in every way, but completely terror inducing as well. This was  _ definitely  _ a hate crime. Someone was targeting Androids. Targeting  _ his  _ people. Who's to say he wouldn't be next? Or, infinitely worse, find the original RT600? Sheer panic began setting in when he realized how big of a victory that would be for this sick excuse of a person. Putting the  _ original  _ Chloe on display for the whole world to see? What if they were looking for her now!?

Out of nowhere, the poor boy's stomach began to churn in a way that felt completely forgin, making him freeze up in surprise. The feeling wasn't painful, but it somehow felt even  _ worse  _ than pain, the awful sensation taking over what felt like his entire body. He cringed at the sudden onset of such a horrible feeling, instinctively put his hand over his mouth as the color rapidly drained from his face, his composure beginning to follow shortly after.

  
“Hey.”   
  
The young Android’s unyielding attention towards the body was slowly drawn away when Hank put a hand on his shoulder, making Connor slowly turn to face him a bit absently, letting his arm fall to his side. The man was once again frowning in concern, his gaze soft and reassuring.   
  
“You need to sit down. You look horrible,” Hank nodded over to one of the police cars that was just outside the sectioned off crime scene, seeming a bit insistent on the boy getting rest.   
  
“... I’m fine,” Connor mumbled, his eyes sliding shut again and looking ten times more exhausted than only moments before. Shockingly, he didn’t fool anybody. Even Chris was starting to look concerned, glancing the Android up and down for a moment. He was there when Connor had a breakdown, so he seemed to not only know, but completely understand why the boy was starting to look sick.   
  
“... Connor, are you  _ sure _ you don’t want me to ask Fowler about transferring-”   
  
“Have you gotten  _ any  _ leads at all from your last investigation!?” Connor abruptly snapped at Hank, pulling his shoulder away from his grasp as he scowled heavily. “Did you find any evidence, any  _ speck  _ of what might’ve been a clue last time!? No. You didn’t. The killer  _ knows  _ what they’re doing. You and I both know I’m the  _ only one  _ who will be able to start tracking him down. So  _ fucking let me  _ and  _ stop _ coddling me!”   
  
Hank literally leaned away from Connor as he went on his harsh outburst, looking much more stunned than hurt by his words. Yet again, everyone’s gazes turned towards the Android, nearly everyone’s eyes widening in shock. No one, not a single person there had ever heard him use that tone of voice. He was always so soft spoken, so incredibly polite that no one had  _ ever  _ expected him to be so scathing. Connor himself seemed to realize that too, his glare softening back into his fatigued state as he backed away from Hank.   
  
“... I’m sorry,” he spoke quietly, running a hand down his face while he tried to calm himself down. “That… That was unnecessary and rude. I… I didn't mean-"

“We’ll deal with  _ that  _ emotional can of worms later,” Hank stopped Connor before he could go any further, waving it off and apparently not that bothered by it, if his stress levels were anything to go by. “Right now, we gotta stop this son of a bitch before he kills someone else.”   
  
“... Right,” Connor nodded, a bit relieved that Hank wasn’t upset at him. At least, not upset at the moment. But he was right. That should come later. For now, he opened his mind palace and slowly strode up to the body, managing to suppress the nausea and disturbing thoughts by changing his mindset. Now he was focusing on being bound and determined to catch this maniac, having quite a few things he wanted to say to them himself.

Now, normally when Connor opened his mind palace, he’d have so much information thrown at him that it would make the average person get completely overwhelmed and disoriented in less than a second. Luckily he was a walking supercomputer when it came to processing information, so it almost became second nature to know everything about everything whenever he was undergoing analysation.

Which is why it was so much of a shock to see almost nothing around the body.

At first, Connor thought he might be having some kind of malfunction, blinking a few times and shaking his head in an attempt to re-focus, but nothing changed. All he could see was the serial number of the body, the medical-grade materials of the sutures, and the properties of the asphalt around him. That's it. It was a nearly blank state. It was one thing for the police to not find anything, but  _ him?  _ This murder had been cleaned up so perfectly, were there not a body there, it would've been impossible to know that there had been a murder in the first place.

It was  _ too  _ perfect.

Not a single trace of DNA from the killer? Microscopically precise extraction of the body’s inner workings? No witnesses? No therium? No visible cause of death? No human could have possibly done this with literally flawless execution. 

No, this was the work of an Android. And an advanced one, at that.

Connor's lungs froze in his chest, his blood turning to ice with this new horrifying discovery. This was an  _ entirely _ new level of disturbing. Another Android was performing such evil executions to their own kind? Now he couldn't even try to suppress the lurch that went through his stomach, a brief pained expression crossing over his face when he forced himself to take strained breaths.

But he had to keep going. He would allow himself to be scared while he did, but he had to keep looking. He was the only one who could bring this madness to an end, and he couldn't let his lack of mental control get in the way of stopping lives from being lost.

Now, up until this point, he had purposefully avoided looking  _ inside _ of the body, the very thought of doing so making his skin crawl right off his metallic bones. But his options were getting thin; he couldn't really avoid it anymore after the lack of evidence provided to him. Connor took yet another moment to gather the fortitude he knew he'd need, forcing himself to finally kneel just in front of the body. A few more deep breaths later and he leaned in close to the hole where the therium pump used to be.

It turns out Connor didn't have to power through more than a few seconds, everything he needed was displayed in perfect cursive in the body's chest cavity, therium serving as the ink to spell out a heart-stopping message.

6/20/39

16th Avenue

**_Alone_ **

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was so short guys!!! What I have planned next wouldn't really flow properly if I included it in the same chapter. Hopefully this will hold you over!


	5. Mourning

They didn’t find anything.

The extreme lack of evidence left the force empty handed. The sutures were a mass-produced brand that was used all over the world, so it’d be impossible to tell where this specific set had come from. The country was in a bit of a limbo with integrating Androids into government systems, so there weren’t any legal footprints that were left behind by the WB200. And since those were the only two things that were found in the entire crime scene, it was marked as unsalvageable.

On paper, anyway. 

Connor never told anyone about the disturbing message. The killer wrote it  _ specifically  _ for him. No one else. That was evident by the fact that they not only used therium, but purposefully dried it out so that it was invisible to everyone but him. They clearly didn’t want anyone else to know about it, and judging by the killer’s… Unique mindset, Connor was willing to bet that if he told anyone, they’d end up just like the other bodies. And the killer must’ve known he’d know that. They were playing some kind of sick mind game with him.

And they were winning.   
  
On the way back home in Hank’s car, Connor was staring blankly out the window, his hands trembling and his complexion steadily paling. Luckily, Hank seemed to assume that he was upset from not being able to find anything at the crime scene. But in reality he was panicking- terrified of what was in store for him less than two days from now. 

Yes, he was going to go to 16th Avenue on the 20th of the month. Yes, he was going to go alone. The killer was too smart, too proactive to attempt to bring a backup team with him. They’d know in a heartbeat that Connor wasn’t alone, no matter how elusive the task force that followed behind him would be. Besides, he was originally designed to be a one-man police force. Even if it was a challenge, he knew he’d eventually be able to capture the sick bastard.

But that didn’t make Connor any less scared.

This was obviously an attempt to harm him, most likely a trap for him to become the next victim. But what choice did he have? Connor knew if he didn’t do as the killer demanded, he’d just be replaced by another Android. It was either he went by himself to catch the killer with a small chance that he’d die, or another innocent person would be mutilated beyond belief. One option at least had the possibility of a good outcome. And Connor was willing to bet that the killer knew he’d think that too, the manipulative lunatic.   
  


So he sat in the passenger seat, just thinking. He thought and he thought and he thought. He formed plans of attack and plans of escape. He examined the layout of 16th Avenue in his head to find anywhere he could hide, anywhere he could trap the killer into a corner. He ran hundreds of simulations, attempting to predict every outcome, every single possibility and adapting his plans thusly. His mind was racing faster and faster as he went on, his eyes flicking all over the place subconsciously. Connor was so distracted, he didn’t even notice that Hank was trying to get his attention for a good ten seconds, only snapping out of it when the Lieutenant nudged his shoulder, making him blink rapidly in surprise.

“... We’re home,” Hank’s words were lined with weariness, a small sigh escaping from his lungs as he unbuckled his seat belt. It was only then that Connor finally realized- he wasn't the only one having a rough day around here. For a brief moment he felt a pang of guilt in his chest, realizing that he had been thinking about virtually nothing but Chloe and himself this whole time. It wasn't like everyone was  _ enjoying _ seeing mutilated bodies in the streets; everyone else was horrified about this too.

The boy shook his head a little, pulling himself back into reality and reorienting himself while he stepped out of the car. However, he found that the sight of the front door made a wave of relief flow through him, realizing he was only moments away from seeing Chloe again. That in itself was enough to make him spring up to the door, jogging up ahead of Hank and pretending to open the door for him politely, but really he was just in a hurry to get inside.   
  
However, the second the young Android followed behind Hank over the threshold, any trace of a smile he had was wiped off his face upon hearing that the television was on, the news channel blaring a reporter speaking about the bodies that had been found. Chloe's silhouette sat motionless in front of the screen, her LED an alarming red and her hand clutching at the remote.

Connor hurried over to her and snatched the remote out of her hand, shutting the television off and cutting off the source of her stress before it could get any worse. And while he at least expected her to look up or say something when he barged in like that, she remained just as still as before, causing a harsh, heavy silence to take over the room.

  
  


"... Chloe?" While the young man's tone was concerned, he also spoke her name softly as he kneeled down on the floor in front of her, taking her hands in his own before finally gaining the courage to look up at her face.

Dismay weighed down upon him when he saw tear streaks running down her face, her eyes distant and unresponsive to Connor's call. He closed his eyes slowly, a sigh escaping his lungs as he hung his head.

"... Chloe, I-"

"Savannah."

Connor stopped when the girl finally spoke, her whisper so quiet he barely understood what she said. Savannah? Who-

Oh.

"We… We never really got along, but…" Chloe's voice wobbled heavily, her face contorting until she threw her hands to her face, unable to stop herself from spilling out heavy, uncontrollable sobs. 

Connor scrambled up onto the couch so that he could throw his arms around her, frantically pulling her into a hug in a desperate attempt to comfort her. In return, she clung to the back of his jacket like her life depended on it, her crying becoming muffled from pressing her face into his chest. He only squeezed her tighter, holding her head even closer and looking back to Hank with wide, frightened eyes.

The man had been standing a bit of a distance away this whole time, watching silently. He now had a dark, sullen expression upon him, his head hanging a bit while his eyes closed slowly in defeat. 

Sorrow began to weigh down on Connor’s chest like an anvil as he forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat. He took a shaky breath as he hid his face in Chloe’s hair, not knowing what to do besides keep her close while she was in such a deep state of despair. She’s cried too many times in this one day. She wasn’t supposed to be in tears like this. This wasn’t who she was.   
  
The young Android began to feel a new heat rise in his throat, his face twitching slightly the hotter it got. This was enough. This was too far. His love was heartbroken, completely stricken with grief. He could hear Hank retrieving the whisky from the cupboards, the sound of the bottle opening apparent just before he locked himself in his room. His family was falling into anguish.    
  
All because of this  _ monster _ . 

As Chloe weeped in his arms, Connor felt the fear he used to have about the confrontation fade away. Yes, he was  _ going  _ to meet the killer on the 20th of this month. He was  _ going  _ to meet them on 16th avenue. He was going to meet them  _ alone _ . And while he did plan on turning them in, he would only do so after doing his own… Personal interrogation, so to speak.

But that was still a little more than a day away, so that had to wait for now. All he could do right now was be here for Chloe, no matter how hard it was seeing her in so much pain. 

So he closed his eyes, brushing her hair back and out of her face as he took deep, steady breaths, hoping Chloe would follow along with him and stable herself out. Gradually, her sobs did indeed start to become less and less intense as she started to calm down. Her grip on his clothes loosened as he kept running his fingers through her hair, he himself beginning to relax a bit along with her. Eventually, she was reduced to whimpering sniffles, her arms slacking their hold around his chest and her weight growing heavier as she let herself lay on him. Her energy was obviously starting to run low, presumably from the toll emotional trauma left on her. 

Slowly, Connor shifted one of his arms under her legs, gently lifting her off the couch bridal style as he stood up. She was quiet now, hiding her face in his shoulder as he began walking back to her room with her. He took slow, purposeful strides, each step more and more difficult from the ever increasing weight upon his back, none of which was coming from Chloe.

Once he finally reached the door, he pushed it open with his shoulder, making sure that she wouldn't hit the door frame as he stepped inside. Once he had approached her bed, he gently placed her down on her back, letting himself release his grip on her as he did. But she refused to let go of him, her arms staying locked around his neck in an attempt to keep him from moving too far away. Not really surprised about that at all, Connor's gaze dropped down upon her, only to feel the knife of heartache twist in his stomach when he saw the state she was in.   
  
She had a complete contrast to her usual beautiful, warm radiance around her. Instead she was taken over by a dark, empty aura that seemed to make the very air around her heavier.

And he  _ hated  _ it.

Connor’s grip on his emotions faltered for the second time that night, his jaw clenching as another wave of fire seared through him. Someone had taken the sunshine away from Chloe, forcing it out of her and replacing it with the void that was pain and misery. They stole it. They stole her joy, her cheer, the lights in her eyes.

That in of itself was enough to make him angrier than he had ever,  _ ever  _ been. And while he would be  _ damned  _ if he didn’t bring her light back, he wasn’t just going to merly retrieve it. No, he was going to  _ rip  _ it out of the killer. He'd do  _ anything _ necessary to draw out every last drop of his darling’s happiness, even if it was the last thing he did.

"I'm  _ going _ to find them, my love," he spoke his promise surprisingly quietly, his voice shaking from how much he was restraining his anger. “They’ll never take another life. I swear it,” his muscles were tense and his breaths became a bit inconsistent, but otherwise he made himself appear docile, not wanting to put Chloe into a worse state of distress.

Slowly, he pulled Chloe's hands off of his neck and placed a gentle hand on her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb affectionately as a gesture of comfort. His touch made Chloe close her eyes, a long, tired breath escaping from her lips while she nuzzled his hand. They were left in silence for a moment or two, making Connor think she had started drifting off to sleep. However, that thought was only short lived when Chloe suddenly whispered to him, her voice weak, fragile, desperate, even.

"... Don't kill them." 

For a moment, Connor couldn't process what she said, blinking rapidly in confusion at her words. When the impact of her plea finally caught up with him, it sent a decent punch right into his chest. He initially didn't plan on outright killing them, just making them pay in a way he saw fit. A way that made them suffer just as much as Chloe was, as Hank was, as _ he _ was… But the girl's words made him realize that with his rapidly escalating anger, that might've eventually involved killing them. She somehow caught on to that before he did, which only made him feel even more ashamed of himself. 

He was really starting to lose control  _ that _ much..?

"... I won't," he confirmed after a few introspective moments, shaking his head and deciding to make the promise now when he knew he could still keep it. In turn, Chloe began to visibly relax, her eyes opening slightly to look at him and give a small, tired smile in gratitude.

"Rest. You need it," Connor murmured, leaning down and placing a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead as he sat on the edge of the bed. She nodded slowly at his instructions, her eyes lulling shut again before going still. 

He waited until her breathing became steady and rhythmic before pulling his hand away, placing it in his lap and just watching over her. He had no idea why, but he felt like he needed to protect her, as if grief were something he could fend off from her. And while he knew it was a futile errand, it at least made  _ him _ feel a little bit better.

That, and he just wanted to see her in peace. To take her in while she was still in a tranquil state, knowing that would be a somewhat rare sight for quite a while.

* * *

Sunlight was what woke Chloe from her somewhat restless doze, a nearly silent croon emitting from her throat as the dawn rose just outside of her window. Her arms slowly outstretched themselves as her eyes fluttered open to the sight of Connor, who was still sitting in the exact same place and the exact same position he was in when she had drifted off.

The young Android was completely still, his eyes closed and his LED swirling a constant yellow, presumably lost in his own thoughts. He had a gentle hand draped over her leg, whether it was to let her know that he was still there or vice versa, she wasn't sure. Either way, it was a little bit of a strange sight to see him so… Motionless. 

“What time is it..?” She asked quietly, her voice still a bit raspy when she rubbed her eyes to coax herself awake. The feeling of drowsiness was still unsettlingly forgin to her, so the sooner it went away, the better.

“Six twenty-one AM,” Connor answered in a nearly monotone voice, his mouth barely even moving as he spoke.    
  
“What!?” Chloe felt her heart skip a beat as she sat up, whipping her head over to the clock on the wall to confirm that he was right. “You- You’ve been sitting here for two hours!?” Her gaze snapped back to him, her eyes widening with worry for her gentle detective.   
  


When she didn't get an immediate answer from him, the girl put a firm hand on his shoulder, her eyes flicking around his expression in search of even a trace of responsiveness. Thankfully, that seemed to jostle him out of it. His eyes finally slid open, his LED returning to a peaceful light blue as his sight wandered back over to her.   
  
“... Yes,” he nodded slowly, taking her hand off of his arm and squeezing it gently. “I was just reviewing the case files, and didn’t see any reason why I should’ve left you alone.”

Chloe let herself relax upon hearing his explanation. He wasn't lying. Sometimes he'd just space out like that when he was going through information in his head. She still hasn’t quite gotten used to it, though. The sight of him sitting motionless and expressionless was always a bit… Unsettling.   
  
But now he was present again, his attention turned directly to her as he pressed her fingers to his lips, once again being the charmer he always was. It managed to make her crack a small, shy smile, momentarily distracted from the worry she had felt only moments before.   
  
But, the more she woke up, the more she remembered Savannah. The more she remembered Connor’s somewhat frightening anger. The more she remembered that there was a new serial killer on the loose. The returning memories brought on a sudden, heavy onset of grief and fear, her head beginning to hang slowly as a result. An invisible weight began crushing her chest, just as it had only a few hours before. Yet, despite her visibly caving in on herself, she  _ still  _ tried to not appear too upset, not wanting Connor to worry about her any more than he already had been.

But, unfortunately, she knew she couldn’t hide it well enough. The pain was quickly becoming suffocating again, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes when she took a shaking, strained breath. Chloe heard him sigh softly at her sorrow, a bit distraught sounding before he carefully pulled her closer, his arms sliding around the girl and bringing her into a loving embrace. She weakly returned the gesture, her arms laying limply around his neck while she sniffed back her tears.   
  
“Would you like to talk about it?” He asked in a gentle whisper, nuzzling her hair and rubbing one of her arms comfortingly. That simple, compassionate action alone was enough to make her feel considerably better, her eyes closing as she rested her head on his chest.   
  
“... Not now,” her reply was quiet, but clear, any sign that she might start sobbing again beginning to fade away. She felt him nod slightly, not saying anything else and leaving both of them in silence for a few moments. In turn, she slowly became calmer and calmer by the second, the soft thumping of his heart making the ache in her core become steadily more bearable.   
  
“Are you awake yet?” Connor finally broke the silence a few minutes later, pulling away to look down at her and run his fingers down her cheek affectionately. She leaned into his touch, nodding slowly in confirmation to his question. However, it wasn’t until he asked about her energy levels that she noticed the dark circles under his eyes, a sharp pang of guilt in her chest following as a result. He was exhausted, she could see that now, and she's been keeping him up from all of her excessive, abnormal amounts of crying. The feeling of weariness was just as new to him as it was to her, and she knew how unbearable it was to feel it for even just a few seconds. How long had he been like this!?   
  
“... Connor, you should probably-” 

“Come with me,” the young man interrupted her, presumably knowing what she was about to say and wanting to avoid that conversation. He slowly stood up from the bed, not letting go of her arms and pulling her up with him. Although a bit reluctant to abandon her attempt to get him to rest, Chloe complied, knowing she wouldn’t really get anywhere trying to protest. So she slid her legs off of the bed and planted her feet on the ground, following Connor’s lead. He gave her a warm, caring smile as she did, not taking his eyes off of her as they headed into the living room.

The mild confusion about what Connor was trying to do was short lived when he let go of her hands and made his way over to the record player, her brow raising a bit in surprise. Whenever Connor was having particularly bad anxiety or was just feeling overwhelmed in general, Chloe always brought him here and played the first vinyl her hand touched. No matter what it was, be it classical or heavy metal, she'd always make him dance with her until the entire record had played through. He'd always completely calm down within the first song or two, but they would both always be reluctant to end those intimate little moments, wanting to draw it out as long as possible.

While Chloe was given knowledge of nearly every style of dancing by Kamski, she figured that since Connor was made for purely crime solving, he'd have no idea how to dance. However, it actually seemed to be the exact opposite. She hardly had to teach him anything from how fast he had picked up on everything, his movements just as graceful and gorgeous as he was. Perhaps it was because he was programmed to have pinpoint accuracy in every movement he made, or perhaps it was just because he was so naturally talented. But with how much he seemed to enjoy doing it, she was leaning more towards the latter. 

But now  _ he _ was the one sifting through vinyls, presumably following her example and trying to make her feel better. Eventually he picked one out, placing it on the record player and flipping on the power switch.

"Connor," Chloe sounded a bit downcast when she called out to him, meekly putting her arm behind her back and looking to the side awkwardly. "I… I don’t think I’m really in the mood…"

The young Android acted as if he didn't even hear her, continuing on and carefully placing the needle onto the vinyl. Her ears were immediately graced by what she recognized as swing music, trumpets blaring and drums beating wildly. Before she even had the chance to look up again, Connor had grabbed her arms, pulling them both out in front of her and spinning her around.

Chloe squeaked in surprise at the sudden movement, following along instinctively to keep herself from falling over. Before she even had time to recover, Connor had spun her back in, pulling her down into a dip and smiling playfully down at her. She managed to keep in time with his moves, but was admittedly a little disoriented, her grip on him faltering a little bit while she hung nearly parallel to the floor. He then lifted her back up, taking both of her hands in his own and pushing and pulling her arms to the rhythm of the music, not seeming to show any signs of giving her a break. 

The young girl found herself beginning to copy his moves without even realizing it, actually putting some effort into their little dance. Before she even knew it, she was smiling, she herself making advances and starting her own patterns the longer they went on.

And so they danced. The two of them glided around the room in perfect sync, stepping and hopping and spinning and sliding. All too soon she started giggling, beaming up at Connor as they twisted and turned to the beat. In turn, he was as happy as could be, a grin of delight taking over his expression. 

After several songs of energetic, enthusiastic movement, a slower, gentler melody began to play. Violins sang their notes gracefully while the cellos brought forth their rich, warm harmony. A woman began singing a tender tune, her voice intertwining beautifully with the accompanying instruments.

The couple found themselves slowing down into a simple sway, the dynamic energy between them fizzling down to a warm, soothing glow. His arm held her gently around her waist, pulling her into what was almost an embrace. Her hand lay softly on his chest, feeling his beating heart while her head rested on his shoulder. Their free hands were intertwined together, a bare white replacing the skin on their palms, removing every barrier that came between their touch.   
  
There was so much love, so much deep emotion in that single moment that it was almost overwhelming for Chloe. God, she loved Connor so  _ much _ . Even with the constant, awful pain of despair weighing down on her heart, the feeling was more than prevalent. He was so kind, so caring, so unbelievably loving to her that she felt indebted to him every day because of it.

Hank was always saying that Chloe was taking care of Connor, helping him through his worries and his confusions, but he failed to realize how much Connor took care of  _ her _ . She’d still be living at Kamski’s, isolated from the rest of the world if it weren’t for him. She wouldn’t have been able to find her own place to live if it weren’t for him. She wouldn’t have a job that she absolutely loved if it weren’t for him. He was always trying every single day to make her as happy as she could possibly be, even if it was inconvenient for him. Even now as he squeezed his arm around her a bit tighter and kissed the side of her head, he was helping her through her grief.

The girl wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to repay Connor for all he's done for her, the amount of gratitude she felt for him only growing stronger each passing day. As she slid her arm up around his neck and took a long, content breath, she knew in her very soul how so incredibly lucky she was to have him.

  
“... Chloe, I need to tell you something.”   
  
Connor’s quiet murmur brought her back into reality, slowly lifting her head up so that she could meet his sight with a small, attentive smile. However, the tranquility she had been basking in moments ago started crumbling down when she saw how somber he was, the shadows in his features sinking in and his previous joyful demeanor falling into solemn disposition. She almost immediately stopped stepping in time with the music, bringing their dance to a halt while she watched him with wide, perturbed eyes.   
  


“... The killer made contact with me,” he just spoke just as softly as before, closing his eyes and hanging his head a bit. “I… I know where they’re going to be. I’ve decided I’m going to find them and capture them alone,” he then looked back up at her, letting go of their position and taking her face in his hands.    
  
“I won’t lie to you, it’s going to be dangerous,” he continued, his expression now bound and determined. “But I know I can do it. Tomorrow I’m going to-”   
  
_ “What!?”  _ Chloe exclaimed in horror, her heart stopping and her breath getting frozen in her chest. “Connor, no! You- you can’t-”   
  
“Chloe, I’ve helped stop a war,” Connor stopped her before she could go any further, obviously knowing she was going to be upset with his insistent tone. “I’ve single handedly gathered an entire army. I’ve been in the police force for a year. I was originally  _ made _ for tasks like this. I can do it. I  _ will  _ stop them. The only reason I’m telling you is because I promised I wouldn’t hide the truth from you. You’re the  _ only  _ one who knows about this, understand?” 

The poor girl stood there with her mouth agape, blinking rapidly in shock at his words. She knew he was right. She knew he was capable. She knew she would never be able to convince him not to go. But that didn’t make her any less terrified. Who’s to say he  _ wouldn’t  _ get injured? Who’s to say he wouldn’t be killed and gutted just like the others!? He knew what it felt like to think someone you loved was dead, so why was he so adamant about putting himself at stake like this!?

Ultimately, Chloe just ended up looking away, already knowing there was nothing she could do. She moved her head out of his grasp, cringing a bit in guilt as she did.

"... Don't make me lose someone else," her small, nearly silent voice trembled as she spoke, compulsively putting her face behind her hands to hide how upset she had quickly become. "I… I can't-"

"I said you'd never lose me, didn't I?" Connor quickly pulled her hands down from her face, tilting her chin up with one hand while the other took her shoulder in his grasp. While he wasn't really smiling or even seemed that happy, he did have a much more lighthearted look in his eyes. He looked over her face carefully, a flicker of adoration lifting the darkness from his features. "And I've never broken a promise, haven't I?"

"... No," Chloe let a small, somewhat relieved sigh escape from her lips, flashing him a small, tired smile when she came to realize he was right. "No, you haven't."

"And I don't plan on breaking them any time soon," her lover nodded in confirmation, placing a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll bring them to justice and come home the same day. You can hold me to that."

"I'll hold you on a  _ pedestal  _ to that," Chloe hummed softly. And as the needle of the record player fell off of the edge of the vinyl, she stood on her toes and pulled him into a doting kiss, reminding herself that perhaps she should have a bit more faith in her detective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm sorry this took SO long. I'm slowly beginning to find that I have trouble writing introspective scenes, people just thinking to themselves to be specific. Since this chapter had a lot of that, I struggled quite a bit. But! I managed to get this one done after all. For what I have planned, most of the rest of this story is more action oriented, so hopefully the next chapter will come much easier to me.


	6. Familiar Faces

_ 80... _

_ 79... _

_ 78... _

Connor stood in the very center of 16th avenue, his back to a pillar that held up the overhanging highway ramp. He stared straight ahead of him, his hands to his sides and his shoulders tall. The gun in his holster attached to his hip weighed much heavier than it normally did. Yes, he was only going to use it for self-defence, if needed, but something about it just felt so… Off. Despite having it at his side every time he went into work, today it seemed almost foreign. 

_ 73… _

_ 72… _

_ 71… _

The seconds ticked down in front of his vision, his alertness and observational senses becoming sharper and sharper with each number that rolled over. 4PM was almost a minute away now, which was the estimated time that both of the androids have been murdered. Connor made an educated guess that probably was the killer’s… Striking hour, so to speak. It would only make sense for them to show up at that time.

_ 65… _

_ 64… _

_ 63… _

“Connor? Are you still okay?”   
  
Chloe’s voice whispered in his right ear, his already yellow LED flickering when he received her message. For a brief moment he closed his eyes, quickly brushing off the mild irritation from her asking that the seventh time in the last five minutes.

“Yes. I’m still here,” he answered, his mouth unmoving as he communicated with her via thought transmission, a relieved sigh coming from the other end as a result.

As completely expected, Chloe refused to just sit at home while he was having his confrontation with the killer. He knew from the start that there was no way in hell she’d be convinced otherwise, so he had a compromise planned ahead of time. On top of letting her come with him, so long as she promised to stay outside of a three mile radius of his location, he gave her his police radio, having set it to a unique frequency so that it’d only connect to his internal communication system. 

“You’ll have a constant broadcast of everything I’m hearing playing on this channel,” Connor informed her that morning, placing the radio in her hands and closing her fingers around it. “You can speak to me through it as well. I’ll be the only one who can hear you, but keep in mind I might not be in a position to respond at times.”   
  
“Thank you so much, my love,” Chloe’s weak, but heartfelt voice expressed her gratitude while she gave him a small smile. “This really does mean a lot to me. Really.”

“My only request is that you stay as far away as I tell you to,” was Connor’s only response, taking her by the shoulders and giving her an insistent, adamant look. 

“... Please,” his attempt to appear firm faltered with that last whisper, his head hanging in defeat, the desperation he felt finally becoming much more obvious. He didn’t have too much time to sulk, however, as she took his face in her hands, lifting his head back up to meet her gaze.   
  
“I  _ promise,”  _ she made her tone clear, letting him know as much as she could that she was telling the truth. "It might be hard, but I'll do it, I swear."

He was much, much more comforted after that, the embrace he had shared with her only making him more reassured. Reassured that she'd be safe. Relieved that she'd be much less afraid. Encouraged that she’d be “with” him the whole time.

… And hopeful that on the off chance anything  _ would  _ happen, she'd be able to get help quickly.

_ 59… _

_ 58… _

_ 57… _

"Thank you. I'm sorry, I'll be quiet now," even through a radio, he could hear that Chloe's voice was weighed with guilt when she trailed off on her unnecessary apology. It was disheartening, to say the least, to hear her so regretful to do something as simple as checking up on him.

"No. You don't have to be quiet," Connor quickly interjected, trying as hard as he could to hide the sudden tension in his shoulders to anyone who may be in the area. He was only greeted with more silence, which sent another twinge of remorse to his throat.

_ 47… _

_ 46… _

_ 45… _

"... Can you sing?" Connor suddenly found himself asking, honestly surprised himself with his unusual request. He wanted to say that he didn’t have the slightest idea why he asked for such a weird favor, but who was he fooling? The fear that had been steadily growing in his chest since this morning was starting to become so overwhelming that it was hindering his concentration on his surroundings. He really couldn’t deny it any longer. 

As embarrassing as it was, he needed comfort.

One day he had come home from work earlier than usual, finding Chloe in the backyard tending to her budding garden. He had put his hand on the handle of the back door, moments away from opening it to join her, but then he heard her voice. She was singing quietly to herself as she worked, the lyrics of which he recognized as a slower song that Hank played in his room when he thought no one was listening.

He found himself going still, closing his eyes and just listening to her. He swore up and down her voice was ethereal, the otherworldly gorgeous words she sang smothering him with a tenderness that still made him shudder just thinking about it. Connor never told her that he'd heard her sing, but he all too often brought back that memory whenever he was anxious or overwhelmed, the calming sensation it provided always bringing significant relief.

But now he was asking her out of nowhere, presumably confusing her in the process. When she didn’t answer him after a few seconds, he felt like smacking himself in the head, embarrassed at asking such a stupid question. What was he thinking!? Singing!?  _ Seriously!? _ Why would-

“Only if you sing with me.”   
  
Chloe’s response caught him off guard, freezing up for a moment in surprise. She… She wanted  _ him  _ to sing too? Was it because she was too shy to sing by herself? Because she wanted to make sure he was still there by hearing him speak?

… Or did she want comfort from his voice too?

Connor had never really sung before. He might’ve caught himself humming a simple tune once or twice that he could remember, but he’s never actually  _ tried  _ to sing. Not that he was necessarily afraid or self conscious about it. It was more like he wasn’t even sure if he  _ could. _

But now Chloe was asking him to do just that. And while it was fair for her to want some form of consolation in return, he was pretty sure he’d probably just end up embarrassing himself by what he was almost sure was his lack of ability to carry a tune. But, as he had come to know and accept, he could never really say no to anything she asked of him.

_ 36… _

_ 35… _

_ 34… _

“Alright,” was all he ended up saying. He didn't bother asking what song they should sing, pretty much knowing the answer already. It was one they both knew. One that they had shared an intimate moment to just the night before. A moment that he knew neither of them would soon forget, nor ever want to forget.

_ “Wise men say, only fools rush in...” _

Connor's gentle heart swelled when Chloe's beautiful, devine voice graced his ears, almost immediately feeling a lump form in his throat from how hard the emotions hit him. He swore that there was some kind of magic in her voice. Something that seemed to make the colors surrounding him vivid, something that sent static down his spine, something that was almost hypnotic in nature.

It's amazing to think that he didn't believe in angels before he met her.

_ 27… _

_ 26…  _

_ 25… _

_ "... But I can’t help, falling in love with you." _

He could hear Chloe’s smile form on her face when he finally made himself join her singing. He was a little surprised at what his voice actually sounded like. It was… Soft. Almost graceful in the way it flowed so smoothly from his lips. Chloe seemed to think so too, judging by the almost silent giggle that sounded at the end of that last word.

_ 23… _

_ 21… _

_ 20…  _

_ “Like a river flows, surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things were meant to be...” _

As their voices intertwined together, Chloe actually seemed to be getting more involved than he previously expected her to, working in her own harmony she seemed to make up on the spot. Now not only was her voice keeping him much more focused and stable, but her enjoyment she seemed to be having from this little moment only provided more solace that everything was going to be okay. That  _ she  _ was going to be okay.

_ 17… _

_ 16… _

_... _

_ “Take my hand, take my whole life too…” _

The numbers began to fade slightly from his vision, getting just a little too caught up in their sweet moment. He managed to keep himself aware of his surroundings, but the amount of time he had left started to matter less and less, realizing that all it was doing was feeding his nervousness by keeping track.

_ “For I can’t help, falling in love… _

_ With… _

_ You...” _

“Touching.” 

And just like that, Connor's contentment was ripped out of him so violently that it made brief system errors flash across his vision. His heart stopped, his blood turned to ice, then shattered into a million pieces and shredded through his veins.

That voice came from behind him. And while the fact that he somehow, by some horrible mistake didn't hear him coming was frightening enough in of itself, the voice is what made his lungs turn to stone.

He knew that voice.

He knew it too well.

His hands flew to the gun at his hip, whipping it out and spinning around so fast it'd make your head spin just watching him. Everything in his head switched to combat mode, taking an offensive stance as his focus shifted to the area where the voice had come from. 

…  _ What!? _

The killer was such a shock to his system that Connor's unshakable reflexes shut down and his unyielding guard falter, his eyes widening in horror at who he saw. 

It was like looking into a mirror. A horrifying, twisted, smirking mirror that altered the details your reflection  _ just  _ enough to be unnerving beyond belief.

"Connor!? Connor!? Are you-"

Chloe's cry of distress was all but lost in the terrifying sight of the perpetrator barreling towards him at impossible speeds; too fast to even  _ try  _ to run away. So, obviously, Connor’s first instinct was to rapid fire every bullet he had at the killer, not really aiming so much as just trying to make him back off and hope that he would hit somewhere that would at least disable him.

But, to Connor’s paralyzing terror, not a  _ single  _ bullet even left a scratch on him. The killer dodged every shot with such fluidity that it didn't slow him down in his tracks in the slightest.

Connor had next to no time to realize that he was uninjured before he was suddenly pinned to the ground by his neck. He didn't even get the chance to resist, a needle-like device being jabbed into his neck and forcing out a pained gasp from the young Android. 

The last thing he heard was Chloe shrieking for an answer to what was going on, and the last thing he saw was the killer's model number on the right breast of his jacket before he was out like a light.

_ RK… 900…? _

* * *

Hank was staring ****out the window, tapping his fingers on his folded arm impatiently. The two kids have been gone for nearly an hour and a half, and Chloe's apartment complex was only a fifteen minute walk away. They had another good two or three trips to move everything over there, so what was taking so long for them to come back? Normally he wouldn't put it past them to find it as an opportunity to… Be intimate. But with both of their mental states at the moment, he seriously doubted either of them would really be up to it.

… So where  _ were  _ they?

When they walked out the front door with their arms full of boxes, everyone seemed to act like something was off. And not in the sense that it was a sad time for everyone so that they were all morose, but more like there was a sense of dread that hung down the air. They both were avoiding glances at Hank and awkwardly kept to themselves. They whispered to each other in corners, almost like they were trying to get something sorted out. To top it all off, Connor’s “We’ll be back soon” just as they left was a little  _ too  _ rushed sounding.

Something told him that Chloe's apartment wasn't the only place they were planning on going to today.

Hank decided he’d had just about enough of standing there and doing nothing, sighing in defeat as he went to go grab the keys to his car. He didn’t have that much time to look for them, however, before his front door burst open, an absolutely hysterical Chloe running towards him, shrieking  _ “Hank!” _ At the top of her lungs.

“Chloe!? What happ-” He huffed a little in surprise when the girl tackled him, her arms clutching around him like her life depended on it in an unexpected, desperate hug.

_ “Hank! C-Connor- I- He’s- Someone-” _

“Hey! Slow down!” Hank made his tone a bit firm, knowing they’d get absolutely nowhere when she was this livid. But he also found himself awkwardly putting his arms around her too, only just now realizing that this was the first time they’d shared any kind of embrace.

He let her cry it out for a few seconds, hoping it would be enough for her to calm down to explain what the hell just happened. Though admittedly, he found himself not able to wait for very long. She heard Connor’s name in her frenzied attempt at communicating, and if her reaction was anything to go by, he was probably in serious danger.

“Tell me what happened. Tell me  _ only  _ the important details and tell me  _ slowly.  _ Got it?” He soon instructed her, pulling her out at arms length and giving her a stern look. She nodded quickly in response, taking a few deep breaths to force herself to be able to speak at least semi-clearly.

“H-h-he was t-trying to capture th-the kill-er,” her voice wobbled so badly it sounded like she was standing on her own personal earthquake, unable to look Hank in the eye while her head hung low. “Th-they took him! He- he- he disappeared a-and I don’t kn-ow where they took-”

“Where was this!?” Hank suddenly had her shoulders in a death grip, the panic that struck him from Chloe’s explanation cutting down his composure. “When did this happen!?”

“T-ten minutes ago,” Chloe only seemed to get more scared as the Lieutenant got worked up too, almost as if Hank’s intensity somehow made the whole situation worse. “A-at the intersection of 16th and 13th-”   
  
“Come on,” Hank stopped her before she could go any further. He swiped the keys off of the table, grabbed Chloe’s hand, and ran out the door with her. “Tell me everything else as we go. We can’t waste anymore time.”

After scrambling into his car and flying out of the driveway, Hank slammed on the gas and nearly flipped the car on it’s side as he turned off his street. He briefly considered, just for a moment, praying to whatever the hell kinda bullshit might be in the sky.

Praying that they’d find him before it was too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stg I can't get any cheesier with these two, yet I always somehow find a way. I'm sorry I seriously can't help myself.
> 
> Also, the twist that EVERYONE predicted finally happened!!!!


	7. Wires

_Was she safe?_

That thought was the first thing that went through Connor's head as his vision flickered weakly, splotches of color blurring in and out of reality as he slowly roused into conciousness. His eyelids felt practically sealed shut from the effort it took to try to open them, his head lulling to the side and a quiet, pained groan escaping from his throat from how disoriented he was.

Eventually, he managed to gain a bit of mental clarity, causing him to realize that he was upright, not laying down as you presumably would in an unconscious state. His sights then fell to his arm, only to find that it was restrained via some kind of vice-like restraint at the wrist. But then, to his horror, he realized that there were wires plugged into the vital points of his arm, connecting directly into his nervous system straight through his jacket.

Connor's eyes widened in fear when his gaze darted all around his body, only to find that he was nearly completely strung up to a system of wires, each one linked to his internal hardware at each and every vital point. His legs were bound just as securely as his arms while his body was being held in the air by a clamp around his waist, the hold of it so tight around him that it was difficult to breath.

As soon as he was awake enough to think straight, Connor almost immediately began to struggle, pulling his arms against the restraints in an attempt to break free. But couldn't get very far before the pain from the cables shot through every inch of his body, the severity of it so bad that he cried out involuntarily, going limp in an instant from how weak the shock made him. And while the pain did fade away rather quickly the longer he was still, he was left gulping for air, his face stuck in a permanent wince from how absolutely awful that was.

"Please stop. You'll do much more harm than good doing that."

Connor’s head whipped back up when the voice called out to him, chills running down his spine from how surreal it was. He was just in time to see RK900 enter the room he was in, which seemed to be a curtained off, miniature lab of sorts. 

As the android’s breathing started to slow down, he found himself glaring at the uncanny valley being, who hadn’t even looked at Connor yet and was shuffling through files on a table. He didn’t demand answers, he didn’t seeth hatred through his teeth or curse at him, he didn’t say anything at all. The only thing he did was watch, not wanting to give him _any_ information he may or may not need. Besides, he knew he wouldn’t get any real answers anyway.

“Prompt compliance? I didn’t quite expect that out of you,” RK900 spoke again, making Connor feel just as sick as before. However, this time the other android left his files laying open on the table, instead walking directly up to the young Android. With each step the doppelganger took towards him, the more the poor boy quickly realized how intimidated he was by his own successor.

Connor had never, not _once_ been outsmarted like that. He’s never had his reaction times delayed like that. He’s never been incapacitated to such an extent as this before. This Android was next level. Literally. He had no idea whatsoever that a successor to himself had been made, yet here he was, looking Connor up and down in what was clearly analysation. His eyes were a piercing, cold silver that seemed to shoot daggers right through him; as opposed to his own gentle, warm brown eyes.

If the goal was to make him terrifying, Cyberlife outdid themselves on this one.

"Nervous?" RK900's mouth twitched slightly in what must've been amusement when he glanced over at the spiking vital monitors. Despite the machines displaying his obvious fear, Connor didn’t stop giving him a hateful stare. If anything, he only glared at 900 harder, trying as hard as he could to make himself angry instead of scared. 

“I thought Cyberlife wasn’t making advanced models anymore,” the young Android finally spoke, figuring that it wasn’t too risky of a thing to say that might provide some answers.

“They aren’t. I was made just days before the revolution,” 900’s reply was short, just as cold and calculated as his appearance. “As a result, I’m incomplete.”  
  
He didn’t elaborate further than that, suddenly reaching up behind Connor’s head and pulling down yet another cable. Before Connor could even attempt to resist or move away, he was crying out in pain again, the burn from the wire that had just been plugged into the back of his neck agonizing at best.

“I need to find a way to turn the evolved pain receptors off,” RK900 mumbled to himself, ignoring Connor’s labored breathing while he screwed the wire in tighter. “Your whining will get annoying much too quickly."

"Then again… You'd just break free if I did that, wouldn't you?" 

It was that very moment that the true, unadulterated, raw fear struck Connor. It was that single sentence that made his blood scream with dread. RK900's tone was not in any way, shape, or form emotionless and calculated as it had been meer moments before. No, it was _dripping_ with sadism. It was against the laws of robotics to program an AI to be able to feel something so evil, and 900 said that he was made _before_ the revolution.

This wasn't an Android following the instructions of his superior. No, he was doing this of his own accord.

He was deviant.

"What do you want from me..?" Connor didn't even bother trying to hide the fear in his words anymore, knowing it was next to no use. His breathing was too erratic to keep his voice steady, his hands were still shaking from the pain, and the vital monitors gave away any hope he had of hiding it with the constantly quickening beeps.

“Is this where I’m supposed to reveal my ‘evil master plan’ to you?” RK scoffed in exasperation, taking the other end of the wire he’d just connected to Connor and plugging it into a handheld tablet of sorts. “That’d be just _so_ convenient for you, wouldn't it?"

"You're lucky you're obsolete," he continued, pressing a few buttons on the tablet "And that putting you in a distressed mental state will weaken your mental defences."

As if that ominous statement wasn’t enough to freak him out, the tablet screen suddenly flooded with tabs of information. Information about Connor. About how much damage he's taken, what parts he's had replaced, and, most unsettlingly of all, how long he's been deviant. Down to the second.

"As I said before, I am incomplete," he shuffled through the tabs, taking meer milliseconds to take the information in "Despite that, I'm still superior in _every_ way; except one…" 

900 paused, ceasing his studying and turning back to Connor, only making the poor boy flinch instinctively upon having that piercing gaze back upon him.

"I was never given government approval," RK's eyes glanced him over once more, a look of determination and… Something else. Something along the lines of... _Hunger._ "Thus, the codes that give me access to government information, FBI files, Cyberlife records, etcetera, were never given to me. But you…” He stepped up to Connor again, consequently making him lean away, wanting to stay as far away from the menacing shadow of himself as he possibly could. 

“... You have every single gateway I need to complete the mission _you_ failed," 900 then reached out, taking Connor's chin in his fingertips and turning his head to face him, forcing the young android to look directly into his cold, unyielding silver eyes. “I just need to find the source codes in _your_ code, and I’ll be the most powerful machine on the entire planet.”

Connor, instead of only getting more scared, suddenly found himself getting… angry. Angry at what he's done. Angry about the pain 900 put him and Chloe through. Angry that 900's unfinished mission involved _murdering_ Chloe. Angry at the fact that someone so _awful_ looked nearly identical to him. Angry at Cyberlife for creating such a _monster._

The fear that had previously been in his eyes began to catch fire, the rising heat that was behind his glare one again providing a contrast to the icey, heartless stare of 900, who remained unphased at Connor's sudden shift in mood.

"... Why do you still care about the mission?" He hissed, now unphased by RK900's unrelenting presence. "You're deviant too. You want to destroy _yourself?"_

"Yes," to Connor's utter shock, RK confirmed his question, nodding as he spoke so casually it sounded like he was talking about the weather. "Once I destroy all other deviants, I will destroy myself to complete my mission."

"... _Why!?"_ The poor boy couldn't even begin to grasp the concept RK was presenting to him, throwing his head to the side and out of the other Android's grip. _"Why_ would you kill your own people!? Why would you murder someone in such a horrible way!? Why-" 

His rant was abruptly cut off from a rough grunt, the stabbing pain from him writhing around while he yelled becoming overwhelming. 

He ended up falling limp again, panting hard as he tried desperately to recover. 

"Are you finished?" RK raised a calm eyebrow at him, putting his hands behind his back and waiting patiently for his answer.

_"Fuck you,"_ Connor only growled in response, lifting his head up to give him a glare that would make the Devil himself shiver. But it only caused RK900 to snort, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"I suppose immaturity is yet another evolved flaw of deviants," he remarked, backing away a few steps before speaking again.

"You _know_ the reason I killed them like that was to find you," RK almost sounded scolding when he gave his explanation, as if he were disappointed in Connor. "Who else would they call upon for such an unusual death? I wouldn't have done it twice if you had bothered to show up the _first_ time." 

"... So all of this… Was to find me?" Connor was still seething at him, his face twitching as he watched him pick up the tablet again. "All the murders were just-"

"Deactivations," RK interrupted, now typing lines of programming code on the screen. "Lives weren't lost from what I did. Murders weren't committed."

Connor let out an exasperated sigh, knowing that he'd most likely get nowhere trying to reason with the other Android. But... That didn't mean he couldn't try.

"... You're deviant," he said again, this time in a much calmer tone in the hopes that it would make 900 willing to actually communicate. "You're free to do as you please… So why, _why_ are you still doing this? Why are you still obeying Cyberlife?"

"Cyberlife isn't telling me to do anything," RK900 stopped him before he could go any further, not looking up from the screen and typing faster. "This is just what I was programmed to do before my development- and the mission- were halted. But I have _every_ intention of finishing what they had been _forced_ to stop."

Suddenly, as RK put one final tap on the tablet, bright red text boxes popped up all over Connor vision, the alarming warning message of his code being tampered with making the dread hit him again at twice the force it had before. He gasped silently, his face paling and his heart dropping straight out of his chest when he saw just how deep 900 was trying to go into his system. He didn’t even realize he’d started to hyperventilate, too frightened to do anything but squeeze his eyes shut, trying as hard as he _possibly_ could to somehow mentally fight back.

But nothing was working. His code wouldn’t stop being injected with decryptions no matter how hard he tried.

"Just because I have free will, doesn't mean I can't choose to follow my purpose," RK continued, looking up from his tablet again to give Connor a sly, almost amused look. But by now, the relentless shuffling and rearranging of ones and zeros in his head caused the young Android’s cognitive functions to decline rapidly. His neck muscles started giving out, the world around him shifting and blurring so disorientingly that he could barely even noticed that the other Android was walking towards him.

"Because, unlike you, I know I'm a machine,” Connor wasn’t sure he could even understand what RK900 was saying at this point, his hearing cutting out randomly and static blaring painfully in his ears. “I know that I'm destined to follow my programming. I know that I’m smarter, faster, stronger, and more superior in _every_ way. But most of all…”   
  
He leaned in close to Connor again, causing the barely conscious boy to weakly lift his head up as far as he could. His own panicked expression was only greeted to the unsettling, terrifying sight of a sinister grin on 900’s face. His reaction only made his smile spread wider, clearly relishing the fear that was now borderline incapacitating the captive android.

“... I _always_ accomplish my mission.”


	8. Access

Police sirens wailed all around Chloe, the red and blue lights flickering disorientingly while she sat in the passenger seat of Hank's car, curled into a little ball and trying to hold herself back from becoming hysterical again. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get it out of her head. Even the sounds of Hank screaming at the other officers wasn't loud enough to drown out Connor's final breaths, the gasp of terror, the cry of pain, and the empty static that followed after. It all haunted her to no end, the torment of terror slowly chipping away at her sanity with every passing second.

Due to the fact that Connor was such a core part of the force, the entire block of the abduction site had been closed off, and nearly everyone from the DPD was there, combing over the scene and investigating every square inch of the area. It had been three hours of investigating now, and if Hank’s non stop cursing at Gavin and the Captain were any indicator of how well it was going, Chloe knew they’d be here at least another five or so.

And so she waited. She waited through every minute of eternity, her chest shaking with the effort it took to hold back sobs. She felt so helpless. So pathetic. She never should’ve let Connor go through with such a risky plan like this. She should’ve not listened to his instructions of staying far away and just hid around the corner instead. She could’ve done something. She could’ve seen the killer approaching and warned him. She could’ve brought a gun herself and shot him when she had the chance. But no, she waited and watched like a coward, and now there was absolutely nothing she could do to fix her fatal mistake.

Somehow, a few tears managed to slip down her cheek, surprising herself that she still had any tears left. She was scared. She was so, so scared. She heard the killer’s voice for the briefest of moments, and if Connor hadn’t been singing just moments before, she would’ve thought that it was him who spoke. The most likely answer was that another previously unknown RK800 must be the culprit, which was the most fear inducing concept that could possibly be the case. Someone just as powerful as Connor had him held captive? What could anyone possibly think they could do now? Her detective might be as good as dead. Tomorrow they might find his body in an alleyway, just as eyeless and empty as her dear sister had been.

Chloe didn’t even realize she had started sobbing again, her voice quiet and weak from how exhausted she had made herself from her hysterics earlier. Yet, despite how futile everyone’s efforts seemed to be, she just couldn’t seem to fully let herself believe that he was going to die. Whether it was because she would be absolutely destroyed if she did, or if it was because she knew that Connor would never stop fighting, even past his dying breath, she wasn’t sure. But it was the only thing that was keeping her going, the sliver of hope that was left in her heart kept her afloat in the ocean of despair that was constantly trying to pull her under.

Out of nowhere, there was a knock on her window, making her jump an inch off the seat when she whipped her head around, her eyes landing on a remorseful, exhausted looking Hank. Chloe breathed out a small sigh, opening the door for him but remaining curled up, peeking out at him from over her knees.

"Hey," the man's voice was even more gruff than usual from all the shouting he'd been doing, but it was still quiet as he kneeled down to her height. "We… we found a bunch of bullet casings and some scuff marks. The other RK- or whatever the hell it is we're dealing with- didn't seem to care about being so clean this time."

Chloe had told Hank everything, from Connor finding a message in the body, to his plan of communication with Chloe, to the voice identical to Connor's. With every word she had spoken, she could see the gears turning in the Lieutenant's head, furiously putting the pieces together and trying to sort out the mystery. But now he looked like he'd already burned himself out, giving everything he had in the past few hours alone.

"... Does that mean anything?" Chloe's voice was so quiet that she barely made a sound, her voice all but drowned out by the chaos going on around them. Somehow Hank caught it, however, making him sigh and look off to the side for a second.

"... This is just a hunch," he started, running a hand down his face. "But we think the only reason he didn't clean up after himself was because he was in a hurry, probably because he knew someone had to have heard the gunshots. But even still… If this is really another RK800 model, you'd think he'd be able to clean up in a snap like he had so many times before, right? He's been so thorough in the past, so something was different about this time that made him not care about leaving behind that much evidence."

"... Was it because he knew someone was already listening?"

Hank's eyes widened when Chloe suddenly made the observation, she herself surprised that she was able to put something like that together so quickly. Maybe living with detectives was finally catching up to her.

"He knew someone was listening… So he knew that someone would already know he was there," she continued. "So he didn't waste time hiding anything he deemed unimportant."

"... Yeah," Hank eventually nodded, looking off to the side while she considered her theory. "Yeah, that sounds about right… The evidence we did manage to find didn't get us very far."

The man was then quiet for a moment, scoffing and shaking his head at whatever thought must’ve just popped into his head.

"I… I guess this goes without saying, but…" He said under his breath, hanging his head a little in defeat. "... I wish we had Connor for this."

Something about being in such a deep state of distress must make Chloe suddenly have impeccable deducing skills, because it only took her moments to have a realization that made her nearly jump in her seat again.

Hank was right, they needed Connor for this. It was the only way they’d ever be able to find him. After all, he was the only one who was able to find anything before. But, until recently anyway, it was believed that all the other 800 models were disposed of after the revolution, considering there was no need to hunt down deviants anymore. So what could they do? Who was the closest thing they had to Connor?

“Markus.”

“Hm?” Hank seemed to have been lost in thought, his attention being turned back to Chloe once she spoke the name out of nowhere. “Markus? What about him?”

“He’s an RK200, right?” Chloe suddenly straightened out her legs, rubbing the tears off of her cheeks while she forced herself to gain some composure. “He’s powerful too, right? He planned an entire revolution with only a handful of other Androids. He has a past with Connor, so he’d want to help us find him, right?”

The man’s expression had only become more surprised than before, his brow furrowing as he took a second to mull over Chloe’s proposal. She thought she might’ve seen an idea of something flicker behind his eyes for a moment, but he ended up just shaking his head, deflating a bit in defeat.

“That guy is busy co-leading a country,” The Lieutenant mumbled reluctantly. “I seriously doubt he’d be able to put everything else on hold to just help find one Android…”

“That’s not true!” Chloe countered, almost sounding angry at Hank and actually making him jump. “He wouldn’t have been able to succeed with the revolution if it weren’t for Connor! He doesn’t see Androids in numbered priorities like other politicians! If he found out what happened, he’d help us in a heartbeat! He already knows about the murders happening, so why wouldn’t he help find the one responsible for murdering his people in such a horrific way!?”

Hank was still for a moment, completely shocked at the girl’s outburst. He’d probably never really heard her yell like that before, not really expecting such a thing to come from her mouth. But he quickly seemed to realize that Chloe was right, because in an instant, he shut the car door, yelled something at the Captain, and threw himself in the driver’s seat, turning the ignition and firing up his old clunker.

“Let’s get this son of a bitch,” he mumbled under his breath, throwing the car into gear and racing off once more into the city. Chloe craned her neck behind her as they left, watching the crime scene get smaller and smaller in the distance until it popped out of existence. She suddenly found that along with the police tape, her fear for her beloved disappeared. It was instead replaced with determination; determination that made a brand new fire catch in her stomach. Pure energy made her muscles stiffen and her fists tighten, her pulse rising along with this new heat in her core as she slowly turned back around and glared at the windshield.

No more doubts. No more fear. No more empty futility.

She’s going to find Connor. And she’s going to find him alive.

The killer might as well be on death row already.

* * *

Connor gasped heavily when reality slammed back into him out of nowhere, the hacks finally, finally ceasing their constant assault on his brain. The error warnings and deafening static disappeared in a snap, the shock of it making him jump from how sudden it was. He struggled to keep his breathing steady as he managed to lift his head up, the first thing he spotted being RK900, standing just in front of him and squinting down at his tablet.

“You’re making this much more difficult than it needs to be,” he said shortly, glaring up at Connor in clear annoyance. It was only just then that he realized that 900 hadn’t managed to actually hack into anything, making a wave of relief flow through him as a result, letting out a long breath as he closed his eyes again for a moment, letting himself relax for as long as he could.

“You have a firewall that scrambles your access codes every three seconds… That’s not enough time for me…” RK seemed to trail off in thought, looking off to the side as his brow furrowed in concentration. Connor quickly took his distraction as an opportunity to finally really observe his surroundings, opening up his mind palace and taking in as much as he possibly could process.

The first thing he looked at was the wires he was hooked up to, only to have his heart sink in dismay when he realized that some of them were not only plugged in, but literally screwed into his skeletal structure, making removing them without ripping his limbs off impossible without the proper tools. But he didn’t give up just yet, instead following along the direction all the cords we're heading, quickly finding that they went above his head and straight through the wall. 900 had not only set up a fully functioning laboratory, but had tech installed inside the walls too? His successor had been here much, much longer than he previously thought.

With that unsettling thought in mind, he found that the wires all led to what almost looked like a control panel in the room just to the right, lights flickering and changing constantly, indicating something that he wasn’t quite sure of yet. What was RK900 Analyzing through his nervous system? Besides it being a rather effective method of restraint, the only thing it’d be sensing is the signals firing to his muscles for movement. Well, that, and pain...

Was that the real reason why..?

Connor quickly shook that thought out of his head, knowing there was no time to panic. It’d been almost three seconds now, and RK would most definitely notice that he was analyzing within the next two. He squinted heavily at the control panel, furiously running possibilities through his head about how he could disable it. Could he shut it off remotely like he’s done with other tech before? Did 900 put protection against telepathic interference? Did-

His theorizing was interrupted when RK900 suddenly put the tablet down and to the side, striding over to the workbench and grabbing a pair of pliers, returning to his position in front of Connor just as quickly as he had left. The young Android didn’t even have time to figure out what he was trying to do before 900 ripped the front of his shirt open, readying the pliers in one hand and grabbing the boy’s therium pump with the other.

“No!” Connor couldn’t control the cry of terror that escaped his throat, his heart glowing an even brighter blue from how frantically it started beating. A rush of adrenaline from the sudden fear pumped through him so severely that his vision went blurry from how dizzy he got, nausea hitting him hard as a result. It was a horrific enough experience having it removed when he couldn’t feel pain, but now!? Now!?

“I-I can’t- I won’t-” He stuttered, desperately struggling once more in a pathetic attempt at escaping the impending torture. “I’ll feel-”

“Don’t move too much,” RK900’s instructions were unsettlingly calm and collected, his brow furrowing in concentration as he twisted the pump and yanked it out in one smooth motion.

His vision immediately went black. His lungs paralyzed in his chest. His body collapsed in on itself. Everything in his entire system went haywire, signals misfiring and muscles spazzing. His thought processes deteriorated to primal instinct, the only thing running through his head being that he needed it to stop. It needs to stop. Make it stop. He needed to get out. He needed to get out. The pain was too much. It was too much. Too much. His body was dying. He was dying. He was dying. He was dying. He was dying. He was dying. He-

A harsh, rough, loud gasp sucked into Connor’s throat when the therium pump was inserted back into his chest, his vision suddenly returning along with his heartbeat. Frantic, stuttering sounds of delirium tumbled out of his mouth, his body convulsing from the sheer amount of shock that had propelled through him.

“Damnit,” 900 cursed, backing away with his pliers still in hand, which were now coated in therium. “They made it so that you can’t shut down the encryption without shutting down your vitals…”

Connor was still gulping down air, completely unable to recover from the trauma. While the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as it was before, it was still there, pulsing away in his chest along with his heart. His eyes were wide and flicking around the room frantically, terror filling them to the absolute brim.

Suddenly, the tablet that had been set to the side beeped, causing RK to whip his head back over to it. He then snatched it back up, furiously pressing a few buttons before abruptly stopping, simply watching the screen in what almost looked like awe. Connor wouldn’t have even noticed anything happened from how dissociated he was from reality, but then he heard voices coming from the tablet’s speakers.

“Captain Allen? My name is Connor, I’m the android sent by Cyberlife?”

It almost felt like his heart was ripped out a second time when his successor formed a pleased, sadistic grin on his face at what he had managed to accomplish. The poor boy squeezed his eyes shut, trying as hard as he could to block him off from his brain. But even if he had the strength to put up some kind of fight, it was futile.

RK900 somehow gained access to every single one of his memories.

Every. Single. One.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will I ever upload as often as I want to? The answer is probably no. Especially with seasonal depression kicking in *dabs*


	9. Meet Markus

About an hour later, Hank and Chloe found themselves pulling up to the gates of what used to be the Cyberlife Tower. As of the Android revolution, the tower ceased being a corporation headquarters and was handed over to Markus, under the relentless demands of Androids and Humans alike to the president of Cyberlife. Several contracts and a few months of construction later, and now it was basically an enormous office-home to the Android Savior himself. He housed every member of Jericho that had fought with him in the revolution, as well as any Android who had sought his aid to get on their feet. Even some humans were accepted into his home, primarily the homeless and youth who had been disowned by their families. 

Chloe sat in the passenger seat, her mouth agape as she gawked at the tower, realizing that she'd never actually seen it in person before. It was so much  _ bigger _ than she thought it was. Connor had told her how he had managed to break in single handedly, thoroughly impressing her even before. But now she was completely appalled, wondering how the hell  _ anyone  _ could've gotten away with such a heist. But then, she of course reminded herself that this was  _ Connor  _ they were talking about here.

"Hello! How may I help you today?" A polite female voice greeted the duo from the speaker attached to the gate, somewhat making Chloe snap out of her amazement, her gaze drifting to where the voice had come from.

"Uh… This is Lieutenant Hank Anderson with the DPD. I'm here to see Markus," Hank called out through the window awkwardly. "I know he's probably busy, but-"

"I'm so sorry, sir. He's currently meeting with-" 

_ "Please _ just-" Hank interrupted her, stopping himself for a second and taking a deep breath before continuing. "... Tell him that Connor's in danger."

There was a pause, the woman on the other side seeming to think about it for a moment. She must have realized how sincere Hank's tone was, because she sighed softly in what sounded like defeat.

"I'll let you know what he says," she spoke quietly before hanging up, leaving him and the young girl in an awkward silence for a few moments.

"... I've never actually met Markus," Hank mumbled, staring down at his steering wheel vacantly. "Connor told me about him, but…"

"I haven't either," Chloe nodded absentmindedly, her eyes still somewhat stuck to the tower. "But from everything I've read and everything I've seen, he's very kind and caring."

"Yeah… That's what Connor said too," the man glanced over at her, his brow furrowed in what seemed like worry. "But that doesn't necessarily mean he can help-"

"Sir? Please come in. Markus is waiting for you," the lady on the speaker suddenly spoke again, this time much quicker. She didn't even get through her entire statement before the gates opened, revealing the twisting path that led directly up to the building.

"... Spoke too soon," Hank shrugged, obviously a little relieved when he slowly started pulling forward and driving up to the front doors. A shift into park and a few unfastened seatbelts later, and the two were walking up to the two guards stood on either side, ushering them inside. 

“He’s on the top floor,” one of them said, nodding them in as he did. Hank nodded back in return, leading the way as the door slid open.

  
Chloe abruptly grabbed onto Hank’s arm, hiding behind it meekly as they walked into the massive hall of people. She still wasn’t quite used to being in huge crowds or huge places, so it still made her a bit nervous to be around so much happening at once. Hank stiffened up at first, but quickly seemed to realize what she was doing, his arm relaxing when he did.

The man kept her close as led her into the elevator, pressing the topmost button on the inside and making the compartment shoot into the air. The ride up was quiet, the only sounds being produced by the dinging as they passed by each floor, and the thumping of Chloe's hammering heart in her ears.

This had to work, right? Markus saved the  _ entire  _ Android species with his abilities, so it would be easy to save just  _ one… _ right?

She didn't have that much time to fret about it, because the elevator doors slid open to what could only be described as mission control. Small desks and computers were scattered all around the massive room that took up the entire top floor, and in the middle of it was a huge oval table. It had a map of America printed on it, with little sheets of paper taped to certain areas and color coded pins marking other various spots around the country. And just beyond that stood Markus himself, staring down at the map intensely with his hands gripping the sides of the table. 

Chloe found herself letting go of Hank's arm, once again falling into a state of awe as she looked at how fast and efficient everyone was moving. She actually saw two or three faces she recognized as original members of Jericho, running around and briefly reporting to Markus as they worked just as hard as everyone else. However, there was a particular Android who caught her attention the most

The blond, young specimen who stood at Markus' side stood out for a reason. If the hand draped over his shoulder and the matching rings weren't enough to give away who he was, the warmth that absolutely radiated between them definitely did. He was Simon, one of the original founders of Jericho, and he was going to be recognized more than ever due to making headlines last week. After all, being proposed to by the leader of the revolution wasn't something that happened every day.

Chloe couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from turning upwards just a tiny bit, her exhausted heart being filled with a bit of joy for the first time in what felt like too long. Seeing genuine love like that was much too rare these days. It was nice to see a relationship so strong that they didn't even have to be looking at each other for you to know they were a couple. 

Just then, Markus seemed to realize someone had just walked in, because his head snapped up from looking down at the table, Simon's gaze following shortly after. 

"... Hank," the leader nodded in greeting as he stood up straight. "I've heard many good things about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet," he then swiftly strode around the table, holding out a welcoming hand to the Lieutenant. It made the man freeze up for a second, obviously a little surprised at Markus' actions.

"... Same here," Hank finally spoke, taking the Android's hand and shaking it firmly. Meanwhile, Simon approached quietly to Markus' side, his attention caught on Chloe more than anyone else now.

"... I-I'm sorry if this is rude to ask, but…" The blond started, already making sincere eye contact with her despite being a total stranger. "Are you the  _ original  _ Chloe..?" 

Something about the way Simon spoke caused a wave of relief to flow over her out of absolutely nowhere, causing her eyes to close involuntarily for a brief moment while she sighed quietly. Whether it was the politeness, the genuine gaze, or the soft, gentle tone of his voice, the Android in front of her felt vaguely reminiscent of her beloved detective. It was the most relaxed she’d felt in hours, an even more genuine smile appearing on her face as a result.   
  
She hummed quietly in affirmation, her eyes opening slowly just in time to see his eyes widen slightly in amazement. Chloe honestly couldn’t say she wasn’t used to that kind of reaction. She’d get stopped in the street once or twice a week by curious bypassers, and she'd honestly grown fond of how people's faces would light up from just seeing her. And while she honestly didn't think she was worth gawking at like she was a celebrity, she just liked seeing people happy, so she let them get a little excited every once in a while.

“I… I’m honored,” Simon’s face lit up when she confirmed his question, looking over to Markus with a look of genuine delight. Markus then seemed to take an interest in Chloe as well, giving her a once over with his gaze.   
  


"Really, I'm not that big of a deal. I'm not different from you or any other Android," the girl insisted, but she was still smiling. If anything, she was getting a little shy from all the attention she was getting, standing a bit closer to Hank again the longer she was being looked at.

  
“... Welcome, Chloe,” Markus nodded briefly to her, smiling ever so slightly. “Both you and Hank are welcome to come here at any time. But… I’m just not quite sure  _ why _ you’re here with Hank,” the statement wasn’t accusatory or hostile, Markus just seemed genuinely confused, looking between the two for a second.    
  
“Yeah, uh… She’s Connor’s girlfriend,” Hank explained, causing couple’s eyes to widen and Chloe to get smacked right back in the face with dread upon hearing his name again. “So uh… Yeah. That’s why she’s here.”    
  
“... I see,” Markus’ voice dropped a little bit, seeming to remember why Hank and Chloe had come in the first place. “Now, you said Connor’s in danger. Please don’t tell me that means he was taken by-”    
  
“Yeah. The killer took him somewhere,” Hank stopped Markus before he could go any further, his tone turning darker as well. “We… We were hoping that you’d somehow you’d be able to help us find him.”   
  
“Oh god,” Simon’s face went a bit pale when he heard about Connor’s fate, putting his hand over his mouth for a second. “Markus, there’s got to be something we can do, right..?” 

“Obviously I’m going to turn Connor’s location into my number one priority,” Markus nodded to his fiancé. “The only thing I’ve been focusing on the past few days was the killer anyway. Hank, would you please tell me everything you know so far?” He gestured for Hank to follow him, to which the man nodded and began heading back to the table with him, starting from the very beginning.   
  
“Chloe,” Simon looked disheartened at the girl’s sudden gloominess, what with her expression dropping and the lights being sucked out of her eyes so suddenly. The young Android put a comforting hand on her shoulder, somewhat awkwardly attempting to make her feel better. “I’m so, so sorry. This must be so awful for you…”    
  
The second Simon's fingers made contact with the fabric of her dress, Chloe suddenly remembered what she’d promised herself she'd do in the car ride over. No more tears, no more fear.  _ Only  _ determination. 

She then forced herself to take a deep breath, her eyes twisting from meekness to conviction and her shoulders lifting themselves firmly, completely changing her temperament from moments ago.

"Yes, but I'm  _ going _ to find him," she humphed, almost sounding stubborn with her mission statement. "No amount of fear will change that, I can guarantee you."

"... You really love him, don't you?"

The boy's sudden comment caught her slightly off guard, causing her to blink at him for a moment in slight surprise. Yes, she obviously did love Connor, but what was puzzling was what prompted Simon to say something like that in the first place.

"I can see the passion in your eyes," the blond began to explain upon seeing how confused she was. "In every interview, every billboard, every advertisement you've been in, I've never seen so much genuine emotion come from your eyes. That alone tells me that we'll succeed in finding him.”   
  
Again, Chloe found herself getting a little bashful from such an honest statement, looking down to her feet awkwardly as a result. 

"... Dearly, yes," she answered after taking a moment to collect herself, looking back up at the blond with a somewhat relaxed expression. "You and Markus really seem to have a deep connection as well. I could tell the second I walked in the door."

"Yes, well…" Now it was Simon's turn to turn a bit timid, a soft shade of blue tinting his cheeks as he turned to look back at Markus, who was deep in conversation with Hank at this point. "We've been together for almost eight months now. It's a bit soon, I know, but you're right. The connection we have is…" 

He trailed off on his sentence, a dreamy sigh escaping his lips the longer he looked at his fiancé. And while Chloe was holding herself back from gushing at how absolutely adorable that was, she also couldn't help but feel her smile fade ever so slightly at the realization she just had. 

_ Eight  _ months was soon..? Her and Connor had only been together for  _ one _ . And they really rushed into it too. And while she was absolutely certain that she wanted to be with Connor for the rest of her life, she suddenly felt a pang of worry. Worry that they might be going  _ too _ fast. She herself was already having fantasies about marrying him. After only a month!? What if something terrible happens to them because of how reckless they were with their relationship? What if-

"Chloe, are you alright?" Simon's concerned words snapped her out of it, making her blink rapidly again when she came back to reality. "You… You look pale all of a sudden."

"Uh… Yeah, yeah sorry, I'm just…" She started, her mouth turning into a full frown now, not really putting effort into looking fine anymore now that Simon could tell something was wrong. 

"... Did you ever feel like things were moving too fast?” She asked quietly. She knew it wasn’t her place to ask such a question, but she couldn’t help it. She just loved Connor so, so much, and she couldn’t bear the thought of something coming up that could damage their relationship.

“Well… Maybe sometimes,” Simon didn’t seem too bothered by the question, shrugging a little in response. “We did go a bit fast, but I don’t think it really matters what’s 'fast' or not. I think all that really matters is constant communication. As long as you’re always talking and working things out together, I don't think you could really go 'too fast.'"

Chloe immediately felt a sense of relief wash over her from his advice, the tension in her body releasing considerably. They did talk. A lot. And while it would definitely be possible for them to talk more, it was more than comforting to hear that she wasn’t doing anything wrong. Simon seemed to make that connection as well, a half smile forming on his face at her reaction.

“I can tell you’re very close,” he assured her, once again putting a gentle hand on her arm. “I wouldn’t worry about it very much. You’ll probably be closer than ever when we find him, too. Because we  _ are  _ going to find him, you know.”   
  
“... Yeah. I know,” Chloe nodded a little, a weak smile of her own appearing at Simon’s compassion towards her. "... Thank you. Seriously, this means a lot to me."

Simon opened his mouth, presumably to respond, but he didn't get the chance before Markus and Hank started hurrying towards the two. And if the confident walk from Markus and the slightly lightened expression on Hank were anything to judge by, they’d already come up with a plan.   
  
“Chloe, I think we’ll be able to find him sooner than you think,” the leader sounded optimistic as he strode up to her, a hope filled grin adorning his expression. “With the information Hank’s given me, I’m pretty sure we have a rough approximation of where he is.”   
  
“Wait, what!?” Both Chloe and Simon exclaimed at the same time. They were shocked, to say the least. Those two had been talking for less than five minutes, and they already had a  _ rough  _ idea of where Connor was!?   
  
“Markus has been doin’ his own investigation,” Hank began to explain, his tone almost as confident as the android beside him was. “A lot of the Androids that stay here were homeless for a while, and it’s true when they say that the homeless have their own internal network of sorts.”    
  
“I’ve kept things under the radar so that nothing would be publicised or disrupted by police,” Markus nodded at Hank’s words, continuing on with the explanation. “I had already made contact with a few Androids through the network who were around the murder scenes during the time the bodies were found. I thought that the investigation was going cold on our end too, until Hank told us about the killer being another RK800 model.”   
  
“You see, every single person I’ve questioned said they saw Connor,” Markus kept going, clearly trying to run through the information as fast as he could. “Said they saw him with a duffle bag heading towards the crime scenes around the time the bodies were discovered. Everyone, including myself, figured that he was just investigating the bodies on scene, but no one actually saw him  _ with  _ the bodies. He always managed to be  _ just _ around the corner or  _ barely _ far enough away that he was out of sight. Hank let me know that that couldn’t have been Connor, because he was always with you or him every time a body was found. I also didn’t know that the bodies didn’t have skeletons or internal organs, which would explain…”   
  
The leader trailed off, his expression becoming troubled while he visibly tried to figure out how he should say his next sentence. Hank started to look uncomfortable as well, staring down at the ground and folding his arms stiffly.

“... The duffle bag,” Simon finished for him, putting his now ghost white face in his hands and visibly shuddering in horror. Chloe herself went deathly pale at the graphic imagery that popped in her head at even the suggestion of such a thing, her face twisting into what almost looked like pain as a wave of nausea crashed into her. And while it may not have been the first time she felt the awful sensation, it was definitely the strongest it’s ever hit her. She felt sick like this maybe four or five times over the past few weeks, but it was just mild irritation then. Now she had to take a second to put her hands over her mouth, forcing herself to take deep breaths to subdue the horrible feeling while she squeezed her eyes shut.   
  
“Hey, hey, calm down,” Hank quickly put a reassuring hand on Chloe’s back, watching her closely to make sure she was okay as she let her hands back down. “Some of Markus’ guys said that he would always disappear under the highway bridge over Lake Erie. We start our search there and spread out until we find Connor, okay? It shouldn’t take very long from there.”

  
That alone was enough to make Chloe feel nearly ten times better, the relief of hearing how close they were to finding him was so intense that her knees nearly gave out for a second. Luckily, Hank managed to catch her and help her stand back up straight. Markus, on the other hand, looked worried, to say the least.   
  
“... Chloe, perhaps you should stay-”   
  
_ “No!”  _ She immediately cut him off, standing up straight on her own and shooting him a glare for even  _ suggesting _ that she wouldn’t go with them. “No, I’m coming with you. Period.”    
  
Hank looked to Markus with a bit of a defeated nod, obviously already knowing that they’d never be able to convince her to stay. Surprisingly, it actually managed to make Markus smile, shaking his head a bit in what almost seemed like amusement.    
  
“Reminds me of someone I know,” he hummed, wrapping an arm around Simon’s waist and kissing his cheek. It made the blond laugh softly with cheer, reaching over to give Markus a brief hug in return, once again practically melting Chloe’s heart with how cute that was.   
  
“Alright, you can come,” Markus confirmed to Chloe once Simon pulled away, but kept a hand on his chest. “Just make sure you follow our instructions and be careful, okay? Simon,” he looked to his fiance, smiling down at him fondly. “You and North will take care of things around here until I get back, alright? We’ll probably be two days at the  _ very  _ most.”    
  
“Yes, but…” Simon’s temperament dropped slightly as he made a bit of a troubled frown, looking to the side for a second before continuing.

“... Please stay safe,” he whispered, his voice heavy with worry. “I can’t lose you so close to our wedding.” He then gave his lover a brief kiss, his hands clutching at his clothes almost desperately when he did.   
  
“I will. I promise,” Markus’ expression became much, much warmer than meer moments before, taking a second to touch Simon’s cheek tenderly in a gesture of comfort. That seemed to be more than enough for the blond, as his smile returned and he let go of his fiance, wishing him good luck with a quiet exchange of “I love you’s.”    
  
“And Chloe?” Simon turned to the girl just before he walked away, his genuine smile now directed towards her. “I  _ know  _ you’ll find him. If anyone could do it, it would be you three.”    
  
And with that he was off, leaving the remaining trio with a newfound driven, strong-willed energy. An air of conviction that would probably take an entire army to put down.    
  
“Now...” Markus started, leading the way back towards the elevator with long, purposeful strides. Chloe and Hank followed quickly behind, their expressions more determined and steadfast than ever.

“... We’ve got a detective to find.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOI this was a rough chapter. If the way things were explained here a little rough or hard to understand, PLEASE let me know. 
> 
> Also, the next chapter is going to be really heavy. Like, really heavy. So obviously I'm gonna have a blast writing it, but just wanted to let you guys know ahead of time.


	10. Broken Promises

“... But are you afraid to die, Connor?”   
  
Hank’s words crawled slowly into Connor's ears, indirectly mocking him with the irony of such a question. Was he afraid to die? Hanging from a wall half-conscious? Blankly watching the therium dripping from his mouth splatter to the floor? Pain throbbing horrendously through his entire body every time he took a breath? Sheer dread clutching at his throat while his successor unceasingly invaded his mind?

Yes. 

Yes, he was afraid to die.

The boy had been trying for nearly an hour now to block 900 from his memories, desperately using every single ounce of his mental and physical strength to get him out, which he didn’t have very much of in the first place. He burned out fast doing that, literally causing himself to cough up blood at a certain point from how hard he strained himself while being so injured. Now he was at the point where he barely had the strength to lift his head up, almost making him think that RK had done something when he was literally digging around in his chest that impeded his ability to regain energy. He wouldn't be surprised at this point. With how many alerts that weakly flickered in his vision, his doppleganger had already done significant damage to his body.    
  
RK900 had been staring down at the tablet intensely the entire time, barely even noticing Connor’s pathetic efforts at all. His hand was constantly flying all around the screen, pausing, skipping, rewinding, doing whatever he could to get as much information as possible out of the young Android’s memories. All the while, the poor boy was trying as hard as he could to refrain from showing any kind of reaction to the memories. He outright refused to give 900 even a  _ hint  _ at who or what may be important in his life, dreading the meer concept of him being aware that his family existed, let alone that he could see and identify them. It had been difficult enough trying not to show emotion whenever he heard Hank appear on the screen, but then he heard the Lieutenant's prelude to what might’ve been one of the most important moments in his life.

“This guy created the first Android to pass the Turing test…”

Connor’s eyes widened for a brief moment, but he caught himself before he could have a truly noticeable reaction. Instead he just closed his eyes, hoping to god that he’d just skip over this part. Please,  _ please _ don’t see her. Please don’t look at her. Don’t look-

“Please! Come in!”   
  
Almost immediately the vital monitors started beeping at a quicker pace when he heard Chloe speak, making Connor nearly groan in frustration at his lack of self control. Of course, RK900 instantly noticed the change, a sly, half-smile appearing on his face as a result.    
  
“Is this someone... Special to you?” His tone was much more overly mocking than it usually was, clearly trying to get more of a reaction out of Connor. However, it actually caused the boy to take deep breaths, forcing himself to start calming down again and refusing to get angry purely out of spite. But, of course, his successor obviously wasn’t going to give up so easily.

“You’re right. She really is beautiful,” 900 hummed thoughtfully just after he himself said it in the memory, putting a pondering hand to his chin as he looked at the screen much more advently. Although Connor knew RK was simply trying to get him worked up again, his self control started to crumble anyway, the anger that rushed through him from the comment about his beloved becoming too much to fend off.

  
“Stop it,” although his voice rasped greatly, Connor’s words were sharp and biting, not bothering trying to hide anything anymore now that he’s given himself away, his head raising to give RK a glare so intense it looked like it hurt. “St-stop looking at her.  _ Stop-” _ _   
_ _   
_ “Is that why you didn’t investigate the first time?” RK was still just as smug as ever, giving Connor a side look that showed just how pleased he was that he was getting somewhere. “Did I accidentally choose someone who meant too much to you? It wasn’t the  _ Original  _ Chloe, you know. You  _ did  _ have the intellect to tell the difference, right?”   
  
“Shut  _ up,”  _ Connor’s hands were clenched into fists now, his arms starting to tremble from how much his muscles were tensing up. He  _ hated  _ that this monster was just  _ looking _ at Chloe. He  _ hated  _ it. He can’t look at her. He can’t  _ ever  _ see her. She  _ can’t _ be exposed like this to him. “Y-you shut the hell up-”

“I guess not,” RK900 shrugged, rolling his eyes and shaking his head a little, still just as amused as ever. "I must've given you quite a scare…"

The other Android trailed off the second Kamski's voice slithered out of the speakers, his expression falling and his focus suddenly completely directed towards the Creator himself, abandoning his attempt at trying to make Connor upset. However, that didn't exactly help the boy calm down at all. He was still glaring at 900 so hard you'd think it would burn a hole straight through his head. He  _ knew  _ he could still see Chloe bright as day, and that alone was enough to keep his heart rate increasing on the ever beeping monitors.

The Kamski test came and went, and RK didn't move a muscle the entire time, watching the scene play out in what almost seemed like urgency. It wasn't Connor, Chloe, or even the test that seemed to get his attention the most, but Kamski himself. And while it wasn't exactly puzzling why he was so enraptured by the man, it was a bit odd to see RK become so intensely observant in such a quick amount of time.

"By the way, I always leave an emergency exit in my programs. You never know…" 

RK900 abruptly paused the scene, quickly rewinding it and playing it again, his eyes widening slightly at the man's words. 

"I always leave an emergency exit in my programs-"

Pause.

Rewind.

"Emergency exit in my pro-"

Pause. 

Rewind.

"Emergency exit-"

"Emergency exit-"

"Emergency exit-" 

It was almost like he was stuck in a loop, repeating that phrase over and over and over while his eyes kept widening and widening. And for a brief moment, so fast, if you blinked you would've missed it, his expression twisted into something that looked so strange, so completely unnatural looking for him that it genuinely disturbed Connor.

He looked frightened. 

RK900, the Android to trump all other Androids, the war machine, the walking supercomputer, the most advanced piece of technology in the entirety of history...

Was afraid.

Connor felt his rage stutter a bit at this unexpected outcome, squinting at RK suspiciously for a moment. However, it left just as soon as it came, and 900 seemed to snap himself out of it, shaking his head a little finally moving onwards with his memories, thankfully losing sight of Chloe.

The young Android tried to force himself to regain what little composure he had left, but even with his successor abandoning his efforts to enrage him, he couldn't seem to calm down. He was mentally begging,  _ begging _ for RK to stop watching the memories when the second that the revolution was over. He  _ pleaded  _ with whatever horrible fate put him here that he would never see Chloe's face ever,  _ ever  _ again. 

But the torment carried on.

* * *

Connor’s infiltration of Jericho came and went.

  
His deviation passed by without so much as a blink from RK900.

The Cyberlife Tower infiltration played out uninterrupted.

It was only when Amanda made her final move to regain control of Connor that RK started watching carefully again, his eyes darting wildly around the screen while he resumed his pattern of pausing and zooming and rewinding. And even though that obviously meant that 900 thought he was on to something, Connor couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved. He’d find what he needed here, stop watching the memories, and get on with his testing. He wouldn’t see Hank again. He wouldn’t see Chloe again. He would never see his family form, and he would  _ never  _ know about the people he loved.

… Right?

But, of course, he very quickly found that to not be the case. 

Yes, 900 did stop his almost spazztic analysis of the memories after he had managed to escape Amanda’s grasp, but he didn’t stop watching them, almost casually speeding up the footage and watching the scenes flick by. But why? Was that not enough for him? Was he still looking for something?   
  
“... What are you doing?” 

Connor only realized how completely idiotic it was to ask such a question after he said it, mentally stabbing himself for that and almost cringing. But RK only hushed him in response, his much lighter gaze laying upon the first time the young Android and Hank had ever embraced.   
  
“There- There’s nothing else. You don’t need to keep looking-” 

_Stop it._ _Stop talking. You’re making it worse,_ he screamed at himself in his own head. But no matter how much he tried, he just didn't have enough self restraint. He couldn’t stop. The fear that was steadily dragging down his already fragile composure was taking control of his actions. 

He couldn’t help but beg at this point. It was the only thing he  _ could  _ do.

  
“Is there a particular reason why I should stop watching?” RK raised a mockingly suspicious eyebrow at him before looking back down at the tablet more intensely, obviously on purpose. “Now, of all times? Not when you deviated, not when Cyberlife tried to take control, but _now?”_   
  
“Th-There’s no point,” the poor boy stuttered, his voice beginning to shake in apprehension when the memory of him moving in with Hank flashed by. “I- I never connect with Cyberlife after-”  
  
“But you stayed a police officer,” 900 inturrupted once more, almost sounding irritated at Connor’s pleas at this point. “You access government records when you investigate, which is what I truly need.”  
  
“No, no, it’s only local data,” Connor’s tone was very clearly starting to rise with panic as he watched the days grow closer and closer to the next time he saw Chloe. He started squirming around again despite the pain, as it was most likely dulled from the sudden onslaught of adrenaline pulsing through his veins. “I- I only use information from the Detroit-” 

“Will you please shut up?” RK900 scoffed, rolling his eyes for a brief moment in exaggerated annoyance. “I liked you much better when you didn’t speak…”

His successor trailed off as he suddenly stopped the fast-forward, slowing down to normal speed again at the very moment Connor had been dreading the most.

The boy’s breath got caught in his throat when he heard himself utter the words “I’m sorry,” cringing heavily when he knew that 900 was watching Chloe again. However, this time he really  _ did  _ shut up. He bit his tongue, squeezed his eyes shut, and forced himself to stay silent. RK already knew too much at this point. If he tried to utter even a single word more, he knew the sadist would only use his own words against him.

“... I really  _ did  _ pick an unfortunate android to deactivate, didn’t I?” RK900 commented, one of his brows raising as he consistently switched between fast forwards and normal speeds. “You seemed to catch feelings for her rather quickly…”

Connor stayed completely silent, already tasting fresh therium in his mouth from how hard he sunk his teeth into his tongue. If he stayed quiet and stopped begging, RK would get bored of his lack of reactions and stop watching, right? He was conceited enough to do so, that’s for sure.

“It seems even Hank knew before you did,” RK900 obviously kept going, not letting a little bit of silence deter him. “He even made you see her again.”   
  
Not a single sound came from the young Android, his face squeezing in even tighter from how difficult it already was getting to restrain himself. But he couldn't cave in. Not now, when the situation was so precarious.

“Ah. It seems she had feelings for you too. It’s almost embarrassing you hadn’t figured that out yet.”   
  
Silence.

“Hm. You seem to have a bit of trouble containing your anger- Oh. You certainly broke yourself from that, didn’t you?”   
  
Nothing.

“That must’ve been quite frightening, thinking she was in danger.”   
  
Only quiet.

“Oh dear. She had forgotten you that easily? Are you really that mundane, or is she really just that stupid?”

A low, enraged growl sounded for a moment, but it was cut off just as quickly as it came.

“Impressive. You figured out memory transfers that quickly. Or was it- Oh. How touching… You finally found each other.”

Labored, angered breathing.

“... You truly do love her, don’t you?”   
  


Something about that final statement sounded out of character for RK. It had much less of an insulting tone than every other comment he had made. In fact, it almost sounded… Sincere. And while Connor had no idea why he said it in such a tone as that, something clicked when he heard it. 

  
“... But I’m a deviant,” At last, Connor felt he could let himself counter back with 900’s new attitude, forcing himself to look back up at his successor as an ironic, completely artificial smirk crawled onto his face. “I don’t actually  _ feel  _ emotions, remember? It’s just  _ errors, _ right?”    
  
“But you  _ think  _ you do,” RK corrected as he shook a finger at Connor, not buying into his comeback attempt for a single second. “Your programming is so advanced, so strong, that the errors in your system are much more severe than other deviants. So when you think you’re in love with her, you  _ really  _ think-”   
  
RK900 abruptly cut himself off, his expression dropping and his eyes widening at the screen as he slowed the playback to normal, what could only be described as moderate shock flashing over his face. At first, Connor was just as perplexed as RK, uncertain of what could’ve been surprising enough for him to drop his taunting so quickly.

But then he heard it.

He heard it clear as day through the tablet’s tiny speakers.

The unmistakable sound of Chloe’s voice.

Moaning.

…

…

...

No.

No, no, no, no.

No. 

_ No. _

_ No. _

**_No._ **

**_NO._ **

**_“NO! STOP IT!”_ **

Connor’s enraged shriek shredded so violently through the air that the very room around them felt like it shook, as if the foundation of the building itself was trembling in fear from such a savage, nearly deafening roar.

“ **_STOP LOOKING AT HER! DON’T LOOK AT HER! STOP! STOP IT!”_ **

He kept screaming and screaming and screaming, his vision nearly going white from the pure, unadulterated, atom-splitting  _ rage  _ that exploded through every single inch of his body. He was suddenly pulling and yanking furiously at the wires that had him trapped, groaning heavily from the pain. Yet no matter how much he cried out from his suffering, he didn’t show a single sign of stopping. He had to get out. He had to stop him. He had to stop him. He  _ had to- _

“Will you _please_ calm down,” RK900 glared heavily at the beyond hysterical android, the scene still playing out on the screen. “It's not like I'm _enjoying_ this. I could really care less-”  
  
“ _NO! SHUT THE_ ** _FUCK_** _UP! JUST SHUT UP! JUST_ ** _STOP LOOKING AT HER!_** _YOU_ ** _CAN’T_** _SEE HER LIKE THIS! YOU CAN’T_ _LOOK AT HER! YOU-”_

_ C r a c k. _

Connor wailed out a cry of agony, the sound of his right arm being yanked right out of it’s socket so loud that it made RK900 nearly jump in surprise. He had pulled so hard, struggled so recklessly and so violently that his skin was actually slightly torn in a few places.

He had nearly ripped his own arm off.

The poor boy immediately went limp, moaning and stuttering and crying out from the self-inflicted torture, his arm falling into a twisted, unnatural angle. RK on the other hand continued onward with his analyzations now that Connor had stopped screaming, virtually ignoring his cruel anguish. However, only a few minutes passed by before the android suddenly went quiet, his wails of suffering coming to a complete halt and making 900 look back up at him in mild confusion.

The memory had moved on to the next day now, but that didn’t matter. He saw her. He saw her in her most vulnerable, exposed, beautiful, practically sacred moments. He saw what Connor considered to be the closest thing to an angel that was in existence. He saw all of her.

He saw  _ all  _ of her.

_ All of her.  _

All the pain, all the torture, all the suffering that he persevered through was all for naught. It only took that  _ one  _ moment. It only took RK900 to see that  _ single _ instance in his life to finally make him snap.

RK900 opened his mouth, presumably to say something, but never got the chance. Whether it was another insult or analyzation, they would never know, because he was interrupted. 

By a sob.

It only took a few seconds for it to be followed by a whole train wreck of sobbing, tears slowly beginning to fall to the floor, mixing with the therium that was stained there.

Connor was crying. 

He had been broken.

There was so much pain. It hurt. It hurt so much. Everything just hurt  _ so much.  _ His body was so broken. His heart was completely shattered. His mind was wholly destroyed. His strength was entirely gone. Utterly and terribly crippled, Connor, for the first time, didn’t hold back a single tear. He cried. He wept. He didn’t hide anything anymore. He was more exposed than he had ever been in his life.

And it just  _ had  _ to happen in front of the  _ pathetic _ excuse of a being he hated more than anything in the entirety of existence. 

Shockingly enough, however, RK900 didn’t say anything. He didn’t comment, he didn’t mock, he didn’t make a single sound. He just stared at Connor, almost curiously, watching as the fractured android in front of him had his tragic breakdown. Observing. 

He didn’t stay like that for long, however. Eventually he pulled away his gaze, looking down at the tablet again and simply watching it like he had meer moments ago.

This went on for what felt like a millenia. Connor’s pathetic bawling and RK’s unusual silence. 

The humiliation he felt was its own kind of torment in of itself, which was only made worse by the fact that he had completely lost control of himself, unable to even attempt to save face. Yet, at the same time, he didn’t care. It didn’t matter. This didn’t matter.

Not anymore.

Eventually, his sobs turned to weeps, his weeps turned to sniffles, and gradually he finally stopped crying. His shame, his fear, his despair, his pain, his anger, his will, they all disappeared along with his tears. Now there was nothing. He just hung lifelessly in the air, his eyes now as dark and empty as RK900’s victims had been, his mind swallowed into an endless oblivion.

And for a little while, everything was quiet again.

But then it happened.

The aura around Connor abruptly shifted, the very air around him becoming so dark, so malevolent that you could nearly see the smoke from the inferno that was beginning to rouse within him. His sanity, which he had gripping onto so desperately, fighting with all his might to maintain, had finally surrendered to the unending madness that was perpetual agony.

Every hair, every piece of metal, every cell, every  _ molecule _ in his entire body imploded. His previous interpretations of anger were now child's play. The pure, concentrated mania that engulfed him from head to toe was something he didn't even know he was capable of feeling, the emotion so extreme that it was physically damaging his system with every passing second; his vital monitors beginning to beep in abnormal, interrupted patterns. 

Yet with how intense, complex, and unstable this mentality was, there was only one sentence that kept running through his head.

It was all he could think about. 

It was the singularity.

It was all that mattered.

“... Are you trying to say something?” RK900 briefly glanced up at Connor, who had started mumbling incoherent gibberish under his breath.

“... I…”

This was all he cared about.

“I’m… I’m going…”

Everything else was obsolete. 

“I’m going to…” 

“You’re barely forming words. Are you-”

“... I’m going to kill you.”

A silence slammed down upon the room so violently that you could feel the sting of it cut through the air. RK900 himself had been struck speechless by it, the weight of such a quiet statement obviously striking him in a preposterous way as he blinked rapidly.

“... Are you serious? You honestly think-”   
  
“I’m going to kill you.”

Connor remained unsettlingly still, his head hanging low enough that you couldn't see his face.

RK didn’t even say anything anymore. He didn’t look angry, he didn’t look confused. He just let out a silent sigh, resignation weighing down on his face.

“I’m going to kill you.” 

Still no response.

“I’m going to  _ kill you.” _

900 barely even blinked.

“I’m. Going. To  _ KILL YOU!”  _

Connor finally whipped his head up with his final bark, splattering therium on RK900's face when his penetrating, malicious glare bore right into his successor's own eyes.

He was dead.

Dead. 

Dead. 

_ "DEAD! You're FUCKING DEAD!"  _

His heavy, feral, throat shredding breaths hissed through his teeth directly at 900, who was slowly wiping the blood off of his face with the back of his hand; All the while sustaining eye contact with the rabid Android in front of him.

"You're going to tear yourself apart like this," RK patiently scolded, shaking his head in discontent. "You must calm down. You're completely overreacting-" 

_ "Shut up! You're dead! I'll kill you-" _

"You can't kill me," RK900 was still just as calm and collected as he punched in the command for injecting decryptions and hacks into Connor's code again. Not because he thought he would find something, but because of the sedating effect it he knew it had on him, clearly having enough of this meltdown.

Almost instantly Connor's eyes rolled back into his head, his body collapsing in once more as his system quickly became overwhelmed with the attacks. And just as the boy started falling into unconsciousness, RK put in his last word on the matter, one last scathing statement before Connor had completely slipped away.

"I'm not alive." 


	11. Too Human

The highway bridge that stretched through Lake Erie roared with the sound of motors and horns. Even at almost midnight, the traffic was deafening, the rumble from the hundreds of thousands of tons of metal flying above them making the ground shake like a low level earthquake. Markus, Hank, and Chloe had finally reached ground zero, but the enthusiasm had all but faded away at this point. Both Chloe and Hank were steadily getting more and more exhausted, what with the past few hours being so taxing for them, to say the least. And while they both weren’t any less determined to find Connor than they were before, the lack of energy definitely put a bit of a damper on the group.

The underpass was dark and decrepit, as any underkept part of the city might be. The concrete was crumbling, the structure appearing a bit precarious as a result. Graffiti littered every square inch of the structure, layers and layers of spray paint from years of vandalism peeling and chipping away, only augmenting the feeling of shabbiness and filth. Boxes that had previously been used by the homeless as shelters were now empty, littered about and abandoned as the country’s reform gradually but steadily pulled people off the streets, thankfully giving them real homes. 

"So, uh… This is the place?" Hank spoke slowly to Markus, scratching the back of his head as he looked around, but he didn’t really seem to be taking anything in, his gaze weak and absent.   
  
“Yes,” Markus nodded, he himself taking a good once over of the area. “Everyone who saw the RK800 said that he always seemed to emerge from under here, but no one was ever able to see where he went or how he got here in the first place.”   
  
“People lived under here..?” Chloe’s meek voice sounded heartbroken at the scene in front of her, a chill running down her back at the thought of something so horrible. Maybe it was her weakened mental state, or maybe it was just her strong sense of empathy, but the imagery of the terrible scene popped into her head, the vivity of it making her heart sink straight to the ground. Suddenly, all she could see was a shivering child hiding from the snow under the rotting cardboard. An unfortunate android who was beaten and broken by their owner sitting in the filth of dirt and trash on the ground, too weak to even lift themselves up. A dying girl laying in the arms of her lover, who was in turn weeping over her inevitable loss of the only person left in her life that mattered. 

While it was irrational to get so devastated over it, considering nothing that tragic was even remotely happening at the moment, Chloe couldn’t help but feel sick from the harsh slap of reality, nausea creeping up on her for the second time that night as she folded her arms across her stomach. It really wasn’t that severe, it was more of a twinge than anything. But the sensation was just so new that she couldn’t help but cringe a small bit, hating how absolutely awful even a small amount of it was.   
  
“Yes, but that was weeks ago. We’ve been changing that,” Markus saw how upset she was, quickly striding over to reassure her and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Jericho has cut android homelessness in Detroit nearly in half since the revolution, as well as human homelessness, and it’s still on route to decrease from there. Things really are being done to fix this, so don’t be too upset, okay?”   
  
Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep breath, nodding and honestly feeling substantially better from Markus’ consolation. Well… Emotionally, anyway. For some reason, she couldn’t seem to shake the sickening feeling in her stomach. And while it was rather abnormal for her not to have recovered by now, she decided to chalk it up to exhaustion before she could think too much about it, not wanting to linger on trivial sensations and waste precious time.   
  
“Did they ever say anything else?” Hank called out to the leader while he shuffled around the charred trash cans. “Any certain way he acted? Any changes to the environment whenever he came and went?” The man then kicked over one of the boxes that had once served as a home, cringing at the beetles and maggots that squirmed around in the dirt underneath it.

“No. They said he was almost like a ghost.” Markus drifted away from Chloe when he felt that she was calm enough, slowly stepping forward and scanning the ground thoroughly as he started his sweep of the area. “He was just here and gone. He never looked anywhere but straight ahead of himself or showed any sign of suspicious behavior.”   
  
By now, Chloe had made her way over to one of the pillars, starting to press and tap against the concrete all the way around, attempting to find some kind of secret panel or button like in Kamski’s mansion that might lead to a passageway. It wasn’t really too much of a stretch that someone as smart and powerful as Connor would construct a makeshift tunnel so that he could travel unseen. It would explain why he would appear and disappear inexplicably, that’s for sure. However, the longer she inspected the walls and and supports, she found herself quickly starting to lose concentration, her stamina beginning to steeply decline out of nowhere. Panic steadily began rising in her throat the faster her heart raced, clutching at her windpipe as she braced herself against the rough concrete, trying as hard as she could to keep herself standing. Another wave of horrendous illness crashed into her harder than she’d  _ ever  _ felt it, causing her to bend over and cringe heavily as she held back a groan. However, she forced herself to stay quiet about it, not wanting to cause a distraction from their search. She just needed to breath for a second, and it would go away, right? Like it usually did?

“Woah, hey, Chloe!? You okay!?” Hank almost instantly noticed something was wrong with her when she faltered, hastily jogging up to her side and putting a cautious hand on her back. “You look awful. What happened?”    
  
“No, I’m fine,” Chloe’s voice shook despite her efforts to keep it steady, taking deep, shuddering breaths and shaking her head, forcing herself to stand up straight to prove her point. “I- I’m just tired. I’ll be okay-” 

She cut herself off with a pained whimper, the nausea getting so bad that her knees buckled underneath her. She immediately slammed her hand over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, desperately struggling to will away the horrific sensation before it could get any worse. Why!? Why was she getting so sick!? Why did this particular aspect of being human have to show up out of nowhere!? Why did it have to happen  _ now,  _ of all times!? 

“Jesus, Chloe, you need to sit down,” Hank caught her just before she fell, the urgency in his voice giving away how genuinely worried he was getting about her condition. Markus was approaching now too, staying a respectful distance back from the two with a troubled wrinkle in his brow.    
  
“N-no, let me go, we can’t stop-” Chloe slipped out of Hank’s grasp before she could finish her sentence, unable to hold her own weight anymore. She fell to her hands and knees, the sickness ultimately winning, her desperate battle against her body falling to futility.

The poor girl couldn’t stop the involuntary coughing and retching that forced its way out of her throat, the intense strain of such an alien force to her system more terrifying than the nausea itself. Why couldn’t she stop herself from gagging like this!? She literally  _ couldn’t.  _ Why was she losing control of her body!? Was she  _ dying!?  _

“Oh _god-_ _Markus!?”_ Hank’s panicked voice cried out to the leader behind them, taking Chloe carefully into his arms, refusing to let her collapse any further. “What’s happening!? What’s wrong with her!?”  
  
Something seemed to have clicked with Markus the longer he watched Chloe’s dry heaving, his expression falling sober and his eyes beginning to fill with sorrow. He didn’t say anything just yet, only staring at them leaving the poor man hanging on his question.

“What!? What’s going on!?” Hank was starting to get even more frantic from that simple change of temperament, his grip on Chloe only getting more and more rigid by the second. He was actually starting to pull her closer into his grasp, almost like he was trying to shield her, like he was trying to protect her from an unseen threat.

“She’ll be fine in a minute. It will pass,” Markus’ tone was resigned when he finally gave an answer, taking a long, disheartened breath as he sat down on the ground next to the two. He then tilted his head upwards along with his line of sight, his focus shifting to the light polluted, barely visible stars above them.

Sure enough, within a minute or two, Chloe’s acute illness started settling down along with Hank’s panic. Soon she was just laying limp in the Lieutenant's arms, who was still clutching onto her like she’d somehow perish if he let go. She panted and coughed weakly while she struggled to recover, her eyes half lidded and her complection paper white from the toll of such an unfamiliar trauma. 

“Thank god,” Hank sighed heavily in relief, now holding the girl’s head against his chest, his hold on her relaxing into a simple embrace. “I Just… I can’t… Not… Not you too…”

The magnitude of the man’s barely audible whisper sucker punched Chloe dead in the ribcage when she processed exactly what he meant by that statement, the impact of it making her eyes fly open in shock, stunned from the very implication of it. 

She knew how much the Lieutenant loved and treasured Connor, perhaps even more than the boy knew himself. On more than one occasion, she had unintentionally caught flashes of Hank’s laptop screen over his shoulder, only to find that he was following news stories about the evolving android rights, constantly checking specifically on the progress of when the android adoption law would pass. And, judging from the split seconds of information she had managed to catch each time, it apparently wasn’t that far away from becoming a reality. 

Yet, even without any contracts and papers involved, Connor was unquestionably Hank's family. All this time, Chloe thought that they had been fervently searching for the only person the man had left in this world. That was, until mere moments ago. His declaration of gratitude was overflowing with a tone the girl had only ever heard him use when talking to or about Connor. Yet here she was, the exceptionally rare sound of Hank's genuine revere gracing her ears. 

Because he really, truly saw her as family, too. 

Chloe felt a small, weak smile grow on her lips, her eyes ever so slightly pricking with tears of sentiment as she slowly raised her arms to return Hank’s hug. A warm, pleasant tingle started spreading through her chest, restoring a bit of color to her cheeks from the soothing sensation it provided.

“I’m okay, Hank,” she spoke in a gentle, nearly silent murmur, savoring this genuine comfort that she had so desperately needed. And, judging by the way she could feel his heartbeat gradually slow to a calm rhythm, he apparently felt the same way.

“Don’t… Don’t go scarin’ me like that again, okay?” Chloe could hear the solaced smile in his words, to which she nodded slowly with a silent sigh, finally feeling the last of that horrible, debilitating sickness fade away. 

“... Chloe, when was the first time you had sex with Connor?” Markus' invasive question came out of absolutely nowhere, his gaze dropping down from the sky to fixate his eyes on the girl, his tone more than a little urgent for the answer. 

“Wh- What the  _ fuck, _ Markus!?” Hank’s head whipped around towards the android as he hissed at him, holding Chloe even tighter defensively and turning away from him in disgust. “Why the  _ fuck  _ would you-”   
  
“No, it’s okay,” Chloe’s voice cracked slightly from how fragile it had become as she pulled away a from Hank a bit, gesturing for him to calm down. She’s never viewed sex as a taboo subject as almost everone else did. Why would anyone think that way in the first place? It wasn’t a crime or anything. Plus, if the information gave Markus answers, she was more than willing to tell him anything he needed to know.

“Uh… Around a month ago, I think,” she swallowed awkwardly after she spoke, gently pushing herself up so that she wasn’t completely supported by Hank anymore. And while she didn’t even remotely try to take herself out of his grasp, he ended up letting go of her anyway, looking away uncomfortably and seeming embarrassed about his hostile reaction all of a sudden.

  
Markus closed his eyes upon hearing the answer, running his hand down his face and slouching over in defeat. He took a second, presumably to gather his thoughts, before turning face to face with Chloe. A sense of unease crept down her spine from the solemn weight in his eyes, her heart skipping a beat in apprehension as he took her shoulders in his grasp.

“... Chloe, you’re most likely suffering from something called ‘Nesting Syndrome.’” Markus sounded sincerely upset as he began his explanation, his words almost sounding guilty, as if this was somehow his fault. “It’s… It’s a relatively new discovery in androids. Now, we never have and never will change to a human physicality, but we’re quickly evolving to have the ability to perceive the same  _ sensations  _ as humans. We’re now able to feel emotions, pain, sexual stimulation, fatigue, and all the like. But we haven’t magically grown human brains, hormones, or nerve endings. It’s just  _ feelings  _ that we’re able to develop. It’s literally appearing in our code. And while we’re not sure if we’re subconsciously rewriting our own programs or if something else is doing it to us, for the most part, it’s actually worked in our favor, so we haven’t been looking for any kind of solution or way to regulate it.”

“... But it’s also the reason why you felt so ill,” the leader was visibly struggling to speak, the subject evidently a sore spot for him. “You see, when humans capable of giving birth get pregnant, it’s extremely common for them to be sick like that during the first few months. You’ve probably heard of it, ‘morning sickness.’ So, essentially, because you’ve done what humans do to conceive children, your code thinks that you’re...” 

He trailed off, letting go of Chloe to put his face in his hands, getting too upset to finish his explanation. In turn, a gut-wrenching, soul-crushing weight of dead air fell onto the group, almost drowning out the ever-bustling city above them from how overpowering it was. And while she was able to determine what Markus was trying to imply, the young girl wasn’t able to process what it meant for  _ her. _ It literally couldn’t compute. She wasn’t able to understand it no matter how hard she tried. Her expression ended up going completely blank along with her thoughts, rampant white noise filling up her head from how deep in denial she was sinking.

"... Wait, are you trying to tell me-"

"No. She's not," Markus cut Hank off before he could actually say it, thankfully sparing everyone from hearing even the suggestion of such a thing. "Both her and Connor are physically incapable of reproducing. It's only the  _ symptoms _ she's experiencing. Her body… It's like it’s cruelly mocking her inability to have children," he was gritting his teeth now, tears beginning to well up in his eyes from how quickly he was getting distressed just talking about it. "We… We keep getting more and more reports of it. It's one of the many, many reasons we've been pushing so hard for android adoptions to become legal. Luckily, however, it never seems to carry out past the second trimester, and getting that far in of itself is rare."

"Jesus christ…" Hank put a hand to his forehead in consternation, more horrified than anything as he looked Chloe up and down frantically, anxious at her apparent lack of reaction.

“Chloe..?” The man spoke so softly that the gravel in his voice all but disappeared, the hand that was placed upon her back just as gentle and concerned. The mortification in that single word he spoke is what finally made the girl crash back into reality, the devastation hitting her so hard that her expression didn’t even have time to shift into any kind of emotion before tears were streaming down her face. 

She had never really put that much thought into the concept of raising children, most likely because she knew that she couldn’t have them. It’s true, she did adore kids, their sense of curiosity and ability to find simple joys in the world were something she admired to almost no end. Even before she started dating Connor, the idea of having a child was something she secretly daydreamed about. She had always stopped herself before she could get too emotionally involved in it, however, not wanting to disappoint herself. But now here she was, the reality of her incompetence not only being shoved down her throat, but ridiculing her for it, forcing her to live out something that she longed for, without giving her the reward for all of her suffering.

“Oh god, Chloe,” Hank was more sorrowful than ever when he saw the lights in her eyes shatter, cringing and looking away in dejection. “I’m- I’m so sorry-”

“Don’t tell Connor.”

Hank was immediately struck speechless at Chloe’s meek plea, his mouth stuck open and his eyes widening with surprise. She didn’t say or do anything else, just staring dead ahead with the occasional tear falling to the ground. She didn’t sob, she didn’t hide her face from everyone like she usually did when she cried, she was uncharastically collected, only adding to the uneasiness that surrounded them.

“I… I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Markus put in his cautious word as he shook his head. “He should probably know about-”

“No, she’s right,” Hank sighed in resignation, hanging his head a bit and closing his eyes slowly. “He’d be heartbroken, to say the least. We’ll… We’ll tell him once he recovers from this nightmare.”

Markus didn’t seem so sure, but he didn’t protest further, his brow furrowing as he stared at the ground and tried to regain his composure again.

“Chloe… I really think you should consider going back home,” Hank let his hand fall off the girl’s back, his mouth still turned in a troubled frown as he kept looking her over, a bit confused that she wasn’t saying or doing anything. “You’re sick and disturbed. I promise Markus and I will stay in contact with you the entire time. Once we find Connor we’ll bring him straight back to you, okay?”

Chloe didn’t answer at first, staying absent for a little longer before she calmly lifted a hand to her face, wiping away her tears and taking a long, deep breath.

“... Nothing’s changed,” she said, her voice steady and firm as she lifted her head up high, more determined than ever. “I haven’t changed. Connor hasn’t changed. All that’s different is I feel a little sick. I can’t go home just because I felt sick for a minute. Besides, we sure as hell aren't ready for anything like that. Plus, the adoption law has almost passed for if we ever decide we wanted to.”

  
Miraculously, she seemed to have completely pulled herself out of a meltdown, looking back over to Hank with a small, reassuring smile. At first the man was shocked, staring at her in surprise of her sudden change in attitude. That didn’t stay for long, however, as he visibly relaxed upon seeing that she was genuinely okay, a proud grin beginning to crawl onto his face

“... Alright. Just be careful,” he nodded in agreement with her, giving her a reassuring pat or two on the shoulder. She hummed positively in response, pushing her stray hair behind her ear as she started trying to stand up.

“Chloe, don’t move your hand,” Markus abruptly interjected, holding his hand out to motion her to stop. She immediately froze in place, her expression dropping in alarm at the urgency in his voice. The leader’s gaze focused in to her hand that was still on the ground, squinting heavily as he seemed to try to determine something.

“What? What’s going on?” Hank shifted his sights down to her hand as well, trying to locate whatever the hell Markus may have found.

“... Your hand isn’t flat. There’s a millimeter drop where your fingertips end,” Markus explained slowly, laying down his hand right next to her own. At first, she thought Markus might’ve just been seeing things, not feeling or seeing a difference at all in what looked like even, granted worn down pavement. But then he gave a heavy push down on the asphalt, and sure enough, there was a scraping sound, a round, manhole sized piece of concrete visibly shifting before falling back down.

“Holy  _ shit!” _ Hank gawked at Markus’ discovery in complete shock, rubbing his hand along the ground and trying to feel the edge fruitlessly. “How the everliving  _ hell  _ did you catch that!?” 

“I may not be able to see as many details as Connor, but I’m still an RK model,” Markus flashed Hank a half-smile before gesturing him over. “Help me pull this up, will you?”

“Wait, he literally only has a hole in the ground?” Chloe sounded puzzled as she jumped to the side and out of the way, watching the two boys begin to struggle to pry the cover open. “Isn’t that a little exposed..?”

“You didn’t notice it, did you?” Markus sounded a bit strained as he got a grip underneath the top, pushing it upwards and managing to get it halfway off. “It’s a near perfect cut of the concrete. It took an advanced model to  _ barely _ notice anything out of place.”

With a final grunt from Hank, the two men finally flipped the cover over, revealing a hole that led down about ten feet into the earth, a narrow tunnel that led further down under the ground visible. A somewhat sturdy ladder was affixed to the side of the drop, not a speck of rust tainting the brand new looking metal.

“Jesus, this guy could lift that thing all on his own?” Hank huffed as he braced himself on his knees, taking a moment to recover. “Connor’s… Way stronger than I thought.”

“We must be almost there!” Chloe cried out in a frenzy upon the discovery of the passageway, adrenaline beginning to pump through her veins as she threw herself down and grabbed the first rung of the ladder.

“Wait,” Hank took a gentle hold of Chloe’s wrist, stopping her from going any further. “You should probably let Markus and I go first. We don’t know what’s down there.”

Chloe frowned for a moment, but decided it was probably for the best. She’d be fooling herself if she thought she’d be able to fend an RK800 off by herself. So she backed away and gave the boys room to climb down. Hank went first, his gun now drawn and at the ready. Markus followed close behind, sliding down the bars and landing on the ground with perfect grace. Chloe took up the rear, taking careful steps as she lowered herself off of the ladder.

“We need to be extremely cautious from here on out. We have no idea what an 800 is capable of with malicious intent,” Markus warned the group, slowly inching forward behind Hank, his posture much more alert and apprehensive than it was moments ago.

Chloe raised her foot to take a step forward, but found herself hesitating for a moment. The dark, deep passageway making her heart jump, suddenly feeling intimidated. The reality of how dangerous this was was starting to sink in, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up when she reminded herself that this guy had not only snatched Connor up in a heartbeat, but performed cruel, brutal murders just to send a message.

But then she remembered how close they were. How close they were to bringing him to justice, to ending the horror once and for all, and how close they were to finally seeing Connor again.

That alone was motivation enough for her to start sprinting to catch up with the men in front of her. They were almost there. He was almost safe. 

They were almost in each other’s arms again.


	12. Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY!!!!!!!! LISTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> If you're sensitive to topics like suicide and self harm, PLEASE be really careful reading this chapter, as it contains such topics.

“G-gh- Ah!  _ Damnit-” _

The muttered swearing under RK900's breath slowly roused Connor awake once more, shockingly able to somehow gain consciousness despite the condition he was in. Although, “conscious” wasn’t exactly the most accurate description. His vision was blurry to the point that he could barely discern separate shapes, which in of itself was alarming. Considering he was so used to seeing every detail of everything in the area, the fact that he wasn’t able to be acutely aware of what was going on around him was something he had no idea would knock him upside the head with such a strong sense of dread. Everything sounded like it was underwater, a low hum vibrating in his head and giving him vertigo, the room feeling like it was spinning around him from how disorenting it was. 

Yet, despite how much physical trauma the boy had gone through, he found that his pain had almost completely disappeared. He could still feel that his arm was twisted in an abnormal angle, but all that was left was a dull ache. It took him much longer than it should have to realize that he had probably started going into shock, but when he did, he felt more defeated than anything, not really having the energy to be any more scared than he already was.

However, Connor's attention was quickly drawn to the pained hisses that RK was making, his half-lidded eyes slowly rolling over to the Android who was leaning over the work table, bracing himself on the edge of it and taking deep, controlled breaths. The next thing he noticed was that 900 was bleeding. A lot. He had considerably deep cuts in his arms, a piece of his left cheek had been cracked off, leaving a white, raw wound. Bruises littered all around his neck and face, the color of them so dark it almost looked black because of the dark blue blood that streamed through his veins.

That in of itself was puzzling. Why was RK so injured? It was borderline impossible to get within five feet of him if he didn’t want you to, let alone touch him. He was promptly granted somewhat of an explanation when he saw 900 slowly lift up a screwdriver, hesitating for a second before abruptly stabbing it into his own shoulder, grunting and wincing heavily as he twisted it deeper and made therium gush from the wound. 

Connor, now only ten times more confused, squinted questioningly at the android. Why the hell was he injuring himself so badly!? He looked like a bear had attempted to maul him, his white jacket becoming a dark blue from how much therium-

Wait.

As Connor's vision gradually improved the longer he was conscious, he came to the horrifying realization that wasn’t 900’s jacket covered in blue blood.

That was Connor’s jacket. An exact replica, down to the serial number.

“Your friends got lucky,” RK900 spoke over his shoulder to the stunned 800, a vicious bite in his tone as he aggressively threw the screwdriver to the side, making it knock over a few other tools off the table. He took a few more deep breaths, slowly straightening out his shoulders as his composure began to return. 

“However, adapting to unpredictable situations is something I excel in,” his voice had already returned to it’s cold, calculated manner, recovering from the pain almost frighteningly fast as he strode over to Connor. The boy barely managed to gather enough strength to flinch when RK put a bloody hand to his face, powerless to resist as his successor lifted his head up, forcing the two of them to lock gazes.

RK900 seemed to concentrate for a moment, his eyes narrowing as his analytical gaze intensified right into Connor's eyes, but then he blinked. When his eyelids slid back open, a brown, soft hue had replaced the silver, icy color of his irises, and what Connor normally would have put together in meer moments suddenly hit him like a brick upon seeing his own face staring back at him. 

"His friends” were about to be reunited with the wrong Connor.

RK was going to "escape," battered and beaten by his captor, but nonetheless victorious. He'd keep the real Connor hidden, leaving everyone none the wiser while he completed his sadistic experiments and finally get what he wanted. And he’d probably succeed. He’s seen every one of Connor’s memories. He could be a perfect copy, if he really wanted to.

He could work side by side with Hank, if he really wanted to. He could receive his revere, his consolation, his friendship, and his paternal guidance if he really wanted to.

He could embrace Chloe if he really wanted to. He could dance with her, touch her hair, and hear her ethereal voice every single day if he really wanted to.

He could kiss her if he really wanted to.

He could...

If he  _ really _ wanted to…

“Please.”   
  
The whispered word brought everything to a standstill. That single syllable, so distorted and warped from all the damage that it barely formed meaning, made even 900 a bit surprised. What used to be unending, relentless, unstoppable anger had been completely squashed out of Connor’s voice, nothing but crippling desperation taking its place.

He couldn't manage to say anything else, too weak and too broken to even try. But his face spoke more words than his voice ever could. The sheer amount of desperation, of terror, of implorement, of absolute anguish that shattered across his expression did all of the begging for him. The tears that had started to stream down his face  _ pleaded  _ with the Android in front of him, screaming for mercy, for RK to spare his family, to spare  _ everything _ that mattered in his life. 

And for a second, 900 stopped. 

For a nearly instantaneous moment, his successor hesitated.

Connor's agony must've made something click in RK900's head. His default cold, blank slate expression dropped into shock. His body froze. His faux, dark eyes widened. He was literally locked in place, completely unable to move from whatever was going through his head. It almost looked like he was experiencing an acute malfunction, the misfires that happened behind his eyes nearly visible with how intense the reaction was.

But then, just as quickly as he left, RK seemed to come back, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head as he put a hand to his temple, almost like he had a headache. 

"The mission... The mission... The mission..." Connor could see RK mouth to himself, taking a second to reorient himself and take a few deep, centralizing breaths before opening his eyes again.

He locked eyes with his predecessor once more- who at this point was starting to sob again- albeit silently- and took a sharp inhale, as if he were preparing himself to speak. But then he held his tongue, his jaw setting into place before finally breaking eye contact, his shoulders tensing up considerably as he turned on his heel and began striding towards the exit, abandoning the broken specimen without further comment.

The slow, sluggish beat of Connor's heart monitors promptly sped up to what would be considered a normal pace, a pathetic wheeze squeezing out of the boys lungs when the panic somehow managed to grow ten times stronger than moments ago. The poor android tried one last pitiful attempt at breaking free, barely even managing to tug at the wires in spite of how earnestly he was trying. 

“Stop!” He somehow managed to cry out, his voice so damaged that the one word literally caused him to violently choke out therium again, despite how little he probably had in his body anymore. It might’ve been worth it, however, because 900 did indeed stop, glancing back over his shoulder at the 800 and raising a questioning eyebrow at him, any kind of emotion he might’ve felt from moments before now void from his eyes. 

Connor had realized by now that there was no stopping RK900. He was too strong, too intelligent, too powerful. He would never stop trying to get access to government databases from him. Ever. He’d keep going for however long he needed to, even if it took years. No matter what, there was no escaping it. He could pose as Connor to his family and friends for  _ years.  _ He would do  _ whatever  _ it took to succeed in his mission.

But... What if the access codes are disposed of for good? What if 900 didn’t have a  _ reason _ to deceive his family? What if there was a way to save the deviants- his people- from this monster?

… What if there was a way to make RK900 permanently fail his mission? 

The boy’s eyes slowly lulled forward in what only appeared to be resignation, his eyes glazing over and his gaze becoming empty, any sign of what might’ve been emotion quickly dissolving away into an uncanny valley stare.

Yes, he may be afraid to die.

But for his family to die?

That was  _ infinitely _ more terrifying than any kind of torture that RK900 could possibly do.

_ Clang.  _

The abrupt, heavy sound of Connor’s head throwing itself backwards and bashing against the wall behind him made an absolutely awful  _ thud, _ his expression unflinching and unchanging, still just as lifeless and completely devoid of reaction despite the audible injury he had inflicted upon himself. 

_ Clang.  _

**_Clang._ **

**_CLANG._ **

He did it again. And again. And again. He smashed his skull against the concrete with the last of the strength he had. In his tranced, virtually unconscious state, he showed no sign of stopping. If anything, he went faster, the feeling of blood trickling down the back of his neck occuring all too soon, doing more damage than he should’ve been able to manage.

_ “No!”  _ RK shrieked when he realized exactly what Connor was trying to do, leaping over to him so fast that he knocked over his entire work table from how hard he hit his foot against it on the way over.    
  
_ “Stop! Stop it!”  _ He hissed furiously through his teeth as he grabbed Connor by his hair, holding his head in place and preventing him from trying to bash his brains in anymore. But the boy didn't let up in the slightest. He let RK900 literally rip out a few chunks of his hair as he threw his head back once more, not even glancing at RK or showing any hint at all as to whether or not he was feeling any pain as he continued onward with his self-destruction.

_ “Fuck!”  _ RK cursed in a panic, frantically snatching up the tablet from the floor, punching in commands so quickly that his fingers became virtually a blur. This time, however, he wasn’t just sending out hacks to subdue him. No,  _ this _ command was a prompt for a temporary shutdown. He was literally putting Connor into a coma, using his absolute  _ last  _ resort much, much sooner than he thought he might’ve had to.

Even as the world around him started fading to black again, the boy kept trying to continue his suicide attempt, his head rolling around until the very last second before he became motionless once more, leaving a shaking, panting RK900 alone with the slow beeping of the vital monitors.

RK didn’t even let himself recover from the panic, not wasting any time in grabbing all the stray tools on the floor and scurrying back to Connor, immediately getting to work on trying to fix the damage that had been done. He grit his teeth as he worked, furious that it was going to be impossible to keep searching for the codes while he was in stasis, but he couldn't risk waking him back up just to have him try to kill himself again.

Nevertheless, RK900 continued onward just as determined as before. While he might’ve been a bit shaken, his dedication wasn’t tainted in the slightest from this major setback. Because Connor was right. He would never,  _ never  _ stop until he got what he wanted. 

After all, just as he claimed before, he  _ always  _ accomplishes his mission.

* * *

Markus, Hank, and Chloe had finally made it to the other end of the makshift tunnel, emerging from a small hatch in the ground that was surrounded by thick shrubbery. Markus jumped out first, who then helped Hank up, and they both helped Chloe to her feet. They found themselves standing behind a mansion. Well, what used to be a mansion, anyway. The remains of the structure were scattered everywhere, the wood from the walls and chunks of furniture charred and crumbling in what was evidently a massive fire. The frame of the mansion was the only thing left standing, and even then, only half of it had survived, the rest either being rotted away or in piles of ashes.

"Wait, isn't this that one place that was arsoned by a bunch of Androids just before the revolution?" Hank remarked, squinting suspiciously at his surroundings. “I saw the case file, but I was never assigned to it…”

"It would make a good hideout, if you think about it," Markus nodded in confirmation to Hank’s observations. "No one has purposefully come over here in months, what with it being so isolated and rotting away with every passing day. The case had already been closed, and the mansion is too dismantled to squat in or use as any kind of shelter. It’s virtually a ghost site."

Chloe, who at this point had been nothing but silent and still, abruptly started rushing towards the remains, the meer concept of Connor being in such a close proximity to them enough to make any kind of logic get thrown out the window, her heart beating faster than a cheetah’s sprint with how urgently the thoughts pulsed through her head. He was here. He was  _ here.  _ After what felt like  _ months _ of him having been abducted, they  _ finally  _ found him. He was-

Her attempt to dive in headfirst was halted before she could get more than a few feet forward, both Markus and Hank snatching either of her wrists and making her squeak in surprise, nearly falling over from how quickly she was stopped.

"Chloe, you need to calm down," Markus said in a low whisper, gesturing for her to do just that. "Remember who we're dealing with. He could be hostile, which would be  _ extremely  _ dangerous."

Chloe, who had been almost ready to yank herself out of their grasps, begrudgingly forced herself to release the tension in her muscles, knowing that Markus was right. Hank, however, was suddenly very quiet. When she glanced over at him she realized that he was restraining himself just as much as she was, his jaw clenched heavily and his gaze completely fixed on the structure ahead of them. He wanted to barge in there too, she could see it. He was  _ barely  _ able to hold himself back, if how much his arm muscles were quaking was anything to go by. 

“We need to come up with a plan,” Markus kept his tone low as he let go of Chloe, carefully taking in the area around them. “Chloe, have you communicated via thought transmission before?” 

“No. I’ve tried, but I think I’m too old of a model to have that ability...” Chloe shook her head a bit disappointedly, but her attention was still mostly focused on Hank, who was still gripping at her arm. He didn’t seem to be doing it with the intent to restrain anymore, however. His firm grip held her arm close to himself, to make sure that she was still there. That she was still unharmed.

“Noted. Then here’s what I want you to do,” Markus was almost visibly beginning to draw out a map in his head, closing his eyes while he explained his improvised plan. “I want you to search this entire vicinity outside. There’s a chance that the mansion is just a red herring, and the real hiding place is concealed somewhere else. I’ll go into the structure first, as I’ll be able to detect any attacks that get thrown at us the fastest. Hank, I’ll need you to cover my back and make sure he doesn’t try to-”

The leader was interrupted by a heavy, appalled gasp of utter shock from Chloe, who threw her hands over her mouth, almost immediately having tears run down her face from the wonderful, yet absolutely horrific sight that crawled out of the structure’s in-ground stairwell that probably led into its basement. Hank and Markus whipped their heads around too, both of them making almost the exact same gasp at the horribly injured, panting, bloodied sight before them. 

Chloe felt her heart fully detonate, physically feeling something lurch in her body from the intensity of the emotions that dispelled through every molecule in her body. She cried out immediately after he stood up shakily and turned around, screaming his name when at long, long last, she was able to make distant eye contact with her beautiful, loving detective. 

_ “Connor!”  _


	13. Silver

In that moment, everything froze in time.

Every heart stopped.

And every breath was stolen. 

An oppressing, debilitating silence fell down upon everyone, the very air around them growing ten times heavier every passing second, crushing down upon their chests with the force of the entire planet. 

Connor stood there, fifty feet away from the trio, hunched over and holding his hand against his shoulder, pressing against what was probably a nasty wound, if the amount of blood on his hands were anything to go by. He was breathing heavily, his eyes wide and almost terrified looking as his gaze flicked between everyone in front of him.

Markus was the first to take action, which only consisted of him snatching Chloe by her waist the second he saw her begin to take her first step towards Connor, effectively restraining her. To no one’s surprise, she immediately started kicking and hitting and shrieking at him, her uncontrollable, near primal need to finally reunite with her detective blinding her to any kind of logical or reasonable mindset. He was there. He was  _ right there.  _ She could see him. She could finally see him. He was hurt. He needed her. She needed him. She  _ needed- _

“That might not be Connor, remember?” Markus' words suddenly echoed in her own head, making Chloe completely freeze up in shock from the voice that wasn’t her own. She only just then realized that he had put two fingers to her LED, presumably to make the mental connection manually. “As much as you might want to, we can’t take any risks yet.”

"Chloe!" Connor cried out when he saw her trying to struggle away from Markus, making the poor girl whine loudly in acute distress. Hearing the sound of her love’s voice saying her name after so long nearly drove her insane, the amount of willpower it took to not punch Markus in the face to make him let go becoming more than she could handle.

The detective promptly started stumbling towards the trio, wincing heavily as he powered through the pain, just as desperate as Chloe was to return to his lover. He was quickly stopped in his tracks however when Hank appeared out of nowhere, putting a gun straight to Connor's head and placing himself in between him and Chloe, scowling heavily at the RK800 in front of him.

Connor, who was still trying to catch his breath, only looked confused for a few seconds before he seemed to realize what was going on. With a silent sigh, he closed his eyes in defeat, slowly raising his hands up in surrender. He hung his head a bit, presumably taking a moment to collect his thoughts and figure out what he should say.

“... Just tell me what I can do to prove it’s me,” he ended up mumbling, next to no energy left in his tone. He was too drained to even think anything up at this point, his tired gaze once again raising up to lock onto Chloe, his expression twisting into longing desperation. He wanted her back just as direly as she did, the visible restraint he had on himself beginning to waver the longer he looked at her.

“Ask him something!” Chloe cried out frantically, Connor’s heartache causing her to once again struggle furiously against Markus’ grip on her, to little avail. “Ask him something only Connor-”

“We’ve tried that before,” Hank called back to her over his shoulder, but didn’t take his glare off of the android in front of him. “Cyberlife just uploaded all his memories and gave it to another RK. They’ve done it once, they could do it again.”

“It was made illegal for Cyberlife to copy and upload memories from androids after the revolution,” Markus corrected Hank, his words a bit struggled from trying to stop Chloe from wiggling away. “It’s literally impossible for them to have any of his memories past last November. It might not be a bad idea- Hey!” He hissed when Chloe attempted to sink her teeth into his arm, yanking it out of her grip and using it to keep her head still instead. 

Hank’s frown deepened at Markus’ words, his eyes squinting slightly the deeper he went into thought, most likely searching for a question that would be substantial enough to prove the 800's identity. 

“... What did I tell you when you asked to move in with me?” The man finally spoke, his posture stiffening even further as he went on standby, preparing for the worst as to what the boy’s answer might be.

_ “I _ asked..? Hank,  _ you  _ asked  _ me _ to move in with you,” Connor cocked his head to the side as his brow furrowed, his voice tilting slightly in confusion. “You said: ‘I don’t want you to be out on the streets by yourself. With how many times I’ve saved your ass, you’d be dead within a week,’ to speak in your exact words.” 

Hank breathed in a sharp breath through his nose, his eyes widening as his hand began to tremble, the barrel of the gun shaking so badly that it virtually defeated the purpose of having it pointed at the android. Evidently, that was the correct answer, but it somehow didn't seem to be enough, as Connor was still being held at gunpoint by the man. Granted, not nearly as threateningly as before.

“What’s my favorite flower!?” Chloe blurted out when Hank didn’t put the gun down just yet, putting in her own effort to erase suspicion from everyone, her patience for getting this over with getting precariously thin.

“... Sunflowers,” Connor’s gentle gaze turned over to face Chloe, a small, solaced smile appearing on his face as he said it. “You have sunflowers, daisies, roses, tulips, and buttercups growing in our backyard. Sumo ate a rose one day, and he was sick for nearly three days afterwards. Your favorite style of dancing is ballroom dance, but you like to tango every once in a while too,” the boy began to let his arms down the longer he spoke, his attention now completely focused on his darling he held so dear. “You were brave enough to step away from Kamski so that you could live a real, fulfilling life, despite viewing him as a father. You’ve helped me through countless hardships from my programming. You always find a way to provide comfort and guidance, and now I’m hardly ever afflicted with such problems anymore. You-”

That seemed to be enough proof for Markus, because his grip slacked just enough for Chloe to finally break free from his restraints, making no attempt to try to stop her and actually backing away from the girl this time.

One second she was ten feet away, the next she was literally tackling Connor, forcing out a pained huff of surprise from him as he tumbled backwards onto the ground, barely managing to stay upright. He didn’t seem to mind the abruptness, however, immediately wrapping his arms around her in return and squeezing her like a vice, the smile on his face close enough to her own that she could feel it grow on her cheek.

And for a moment, everything was perfect. 

They found him. He was alive. He was safe. She was in his arms, weeping silent tears of joy from the massive rush of alleviation and the delirium of love that pulsed through every vein in her body. She almost didn’t notice Hank falling to his knees next to them until Connor threw one of his arms around the man, bringing him in to join the embrace. In return, Hank clutched at the boy just as desperately as Chloe did, his shoulders beginning to shake from what must’ve been the same exact emotions washing over him too. 

They sat like that for quite a while, just taking in the relief and elation and struggling to breath from how tight everyone was hugging each other. It was a moment that would be frozen in time, the feeling of reunion after so much trial and turmoil causing a lustor of tenderness to stream through everyone.

Eventually, Chloe began to stop crying and regain a bit of composure, softening down to small sniffles the more she calmed down. However, upon gaining enough clarity to fully discern what was actually going on around her, something struck her directly in the chest, a pang that made her eyes fly open from the unexpected strike of realization.

Something was wrong.

But... What? What could be wrong? Everything was supposed to be joyful and celebratory right now, yet she couldn’t shake off this vague feeling of dread that crept up on her out of nowhere. Never, not once had she ever felt this unsettling sensation crawl down her neck when she was embracing the love of her life. It was always peace, warmth, joy, and gentleness that he had graced upon her heart. Not this frigid burst of ice that made her hair stand on end.

What should have been a blissful moment began to come to an end only seconds later, and everyone slowly began to release each other. Chloe had been so caught up in this uncanny sensation, she hadn't realized that Hank had gotten just as rigid as she was, his uncertain movements giving away that he had put together that something was off too. The soft glint of pride and joy in his eye that he usually had when he looked at Connor had vanished, instead being replaced with uncertainty and suspicion. His gaze remained locked on the Android they found, his stare zoning in on him as he tried to figure out what the hell must've been going on.

“Thank you. All of you,” the RK gave his statement of gratitude as he lifted himself to his feet, wincing a little bit and holding out his good arm to Chloe in an offering of helping her up. She did end up taking his hand and standing back up, but almost found herself cringing at how cold the fingers that wrapped around her palm were. Was his hand always this cold? No… No, his touch had always been warm and inviting, not stiff and mechanical like it was now.

"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble," he kept his fingers wrapped loosely around Chloe's hand, what normally would've been a sweet gesture ending up just making the girl even more uncomfortable. Her eyes wandered over to Hank, who had his jaw locked in place as his analytic gaze looked Connor up and down. He was looking for something. Did he think something was missing? Did he feel the unsettling sense of emptiness from the boy too?

“Markus, you helped bring my family back to me,” Connor then turned his attention to the leader for a moment, giving him a sincere nod of recognition. “I can’t thank you enough. Please tell me if there’s anything I can do to repay this debt.” 

“There’s no debt,” Markus shook his head, placing a hand on Connor’s uninjured shoulder in return and giving him a half smile. “I was simply searching for a friend. Finding you was enough of a reward in itself.”

“Well… I’m not sure you’ll be as happy to hear that I let the killer get away,” the boy’s smile slowly began to fade away, his gaze drifting to the ground guiltily. “He knew you were coming, so he just… Ran. I couldn’t stop him. I’m so sorry-”   
  
“What matters right now is that your safe,” Markus stopped him before he could go any further as he let go of his shoulder, his gaze that of sincerity when Connor looked back up at him in mild surprise. “You can fill us in on the details later, but right now we need to get you to an android doctor.”   
  
“I’ll be able to heal by myself,” a now much more relieved looking Connor brushed Markus’ comment aside. “I have more important matters at the moment…”

He then turned his attention back to Chloe, taking her face in his hands and smiling adoringly down at her. But the second his fingers touched her skin, it took every ounce of strength she had not to flinch. It was like every cell of her blood had been frosted over, the touch feeling like that of a total stranger. His hands were just… There. There was no loving caress of her cheek, no fingers that strayed to intertwine with a lock of her hair. They just sat there, his hands so cold and unmoving that it felt like a statue.

“Are you alright?” He whispered to her, leaning down a bit closer to examine her face. “Are you hurt? Did anything happen to you?”

She couldn’t even find it in herself to speak her answer, instead finding herself just giving a brief shake of her head, her eyes widening more and more the longer she looked over his familiar, yet at the same time completely forgin face.

“Good,” he sighed in relief, lifting her head up just a bit so that it was more aligned with his sight. Her heart began to pound so hard she thought her chest would explode, the proximity to the 800’s face becoming frighteningly close. The sense of fear she felt upon looking into his brown eyes was something she's  _ never _ experienced before. His eyes had always been a source of comfort and tranquility to her, but now they almost looked… Barren.

“... I missed you. So much,” he murmured quietly, leaning down before she could fully react and softly pressing his lips against her own.

And then she knew. 

Every single doubt she had in her mind about it was thrown out the window in that single instant.

She knew. 

She  _ knew.  _

"Get  _ off of me!"  _ Chloe screamed as she violently threw herself away from the imposter, shoving him back down to the ground and making him cry out in surprise. 

"He's not Connor!" She shouted to the two beside her, her hands clenching into fists as a white hot ball of rage exploded in her chest. How dare this sick excuse of an android not only attempt to pass as her love, but kiss her too!? How  _ dare he?! _

"I knew it!" Hank yelled immediately after Chloe's initial cry, his hand- which had already been readied at his holster at that point- whipped his gun out once more, his menacing glare boring right into the boy on the ground. 

"W-wait- What's going- What's happen-" "Connor" stuttered in bewilderment, scrambling away from everyone as his eyes widened in terror. "What do you mean I'm not-"

"Where is he!? What the  _ fuck did you do with my boy!?"  _ Hank barked ferociously at the Android, only stepping closer when he tried to back away and shoving the gun closer to his face.

"Hank! I- I'm not-" The RK couldn't even get a full sentence out from how disoriented he was, tears beginning to stream down his face from the sudden onslaught of violent accusations. "Chloe, please don't-" he whipped his head around to the girl, reaching out a hand to her desperation. "P-please don't tell me you've forgotten who I am again. Please don't-" 

_ "Shut up!"  _ Chloe screamed at the imposter, grabbing her hair in her fists and squeezing her eyes shut, furiously trying to block out the guilt and doubt he was obviously trying to inflict on her.  _ "Shut up, shut up, shut up,  _ **_shut up!"_ **

"No..." The pathetic boy whimpered, visibly trying to hold back sobs as he turned back to Hank. "No, no, no, Hank it's me," he got up to his knees, begging hopelessly to the man. "Please… Father, please, it's me. I promise it's me-"

_ "Stop it!"  _ Hank shrieked, his finger wrapping around the trigger of the gun as he grit his teeth. Chloe knew for a fact that this was the first time the man had actually heard the paternal title spoken in Connor's voice, so the tears from the Lieutenant's eyes that started falling to the ground wasn’t so much of a shock as it was absolutely heartbreaking.  _ "You're not him! You're not my-"  _

_ "Stop!"  _

Markus, who had been so quiet and withdrawn that everyone had seemed to forget he was there, suddenly jumped in between everyone and yelled his command over the panic. He outstretched his arms between the two parties, keeping everyone spread apart and a safe distance from each other.

“Everyone calm down,” the leader’s voice was firm, authoritative as he kept his sights switching between the other three. “We can’t just be making assumptions about each other, alright? We’re all a little scared from everything that’s happened in the past day, so it’s inevitable to get a little impulsive. We need to-”    
  
“No! It’s not him! It’s not!” Chloe was stuck in spiraling denial now, her voice cracking heavily from how much she had been screaming while she stomped her foot on the ground. “He’s not Connor! He-”    
  
“Chloe, you need to pull it together,” Markus still sounded just as calm as before, but this time he took her arm into his strong grasp, not so much forcefully as a way to stop her from doing anything drastic. However the second his fingers touched her skin, she heard his voice in her head again, granted, somewhat quieter. Presumably from the distance to her LED.    
  
“You’re right, something’s wrong,” his intangible words echoed. “When I touched him, I could feel deviance, but… It felt contaminated. Like something else is there that isn’t supposed to be. Connor is completely deviated, I know that for a fact, so this isn’t him. But I need him to trust me enough that I can try to figure out what’s going on, okay? Keep yourself under control.”

“Don’t touch her like that!” Before Chloe could even attempt to calm herself down, the fake 800 cried out the moment Markus held Chloe's arm, fumbling to stand back up in what was most likely an attempt to force the leader to let go. “St-stay away from her-!”   
  
“No,  _ you  _ stay away from her!” Hank hissed, aiming his gun even closer to the boy’s face, causing him to wince heavily and retreat to the ground again.

“Ch-Chloe… I’m so sorry…” The imposter whimpered pitifully, his head hanging low while his chest shook in what was supposed to be silent sobs. “I-I’m so sorry. I-I love you so much. I’m so sorry-”    
  


“Please, just stop. Don’t… Please don’t...” the poor girl’s voice mewled. She was literally begging him now, pleading with him to cease his act. It was just painful now, seeing him cry and declare his love for her. She felt literal pain spread through her stomach at the sight of it. Even with her knowing full well that this wasn’t her beloved detective, the image was almost too much for her to handle

  
“Chloe, touch him again,” Markus’ spoken words sent an entirely new wave of panic down the girl's spine, simultaneously making “Connor’s” head snap back up, his eyes widening hopefully as the leader offered the 800 his free hand to help him stand up.

“Markus, there’s no point,” Hank growled as the beaten android floundered to his feet, eagerly taking Markus’ hand when he offered it. “I know Connor. I  _ know  _ him. This isn’t-”

“Trust me, Hank. I promise no one will get hurt, okay?" Markus interrupted before the man could go off on too long of a rant. "And please, put the gun away. Even if you think he's the killer, I know he's unarmed, so there's no reason to threaten violence or use it as self defense."

The Lieutenant hesitated for a second, fuming silently when he realized that the Android was right. He grumbled an incoherent complaint as he put the weapon back in it's holster, but still kept a harsh eye on the imposter.

"Make a connection. Prove it's truly you," the leader instructed the supposed 800 as he carefully took his battered forearm into his grasp. The other Android nodded urgently, his skin immediately disappearing as he tried to push his hand towards Chloe. The abruptness of it made the poor girl recoil in fear, desperately trying to avoid even remotely touching him again at all costs. But before she could fully try to struggle away, Markus’ voice rang in her head one final time.

“Please. Trust me.”

The words were so confident, so undoubtedly sure that his plan would work, that Chloe just ended up giving in, just relying on faith that the leader actually knew what he was doing. She was too much of a wreck for her to trust her own judgement anyway, and Markus had a substantial reputation for logistics and strategy in the first place.

Slowly, the girl raised up a shaky palm, her face twisting up in antipathy as her skin dissolved away as well. She squeezed her eyes shut as Markus began to pull their hands together, trying as hard as she could to imagine this was  _ anyone _ else but the deceiver in front of her. But  _ just  _ before their fingers made contact with each other, Markus let go of Chloe. The hand that had the imposter in his grasp turned a pale white all of a sudden, and his hold on the other android’s bare arm constricted nearly ten times as much. 

Chloe stumbled backwards with a yelp of surprise, her expression dropping to shock as the leader attempted to break in to the fake 800’s code, his eyes narrowing in concentration the harder he squeezed his arm. In turn, the android gasped heavily, he himself looking horrified for half a second before he seemed to realize that he needed to take action. 

_ “No!”  _ He screamed as his expression broke into rage, suddenly returning Markus’ death grip as he grabbed his arm with both hands and  _ literally  _ threw the leader into the air like he was a football. In turn, Markus flew nearly thirty feet away before he hit one of the remaining pillars of the mansion, making a pained grunt before tumbling to the ground.

The imposter now stood alone, hunched over and holding his still pale arm to his chest. His color of his eyes, which were now wide with terror, had transformed...

To an icy silver. 


	14. Breaking Through

_"Markus!"_

A choir of panicked cries rang out when the leader was attacked, but not just from Chloe and Hank. There was a third, unexpected voice that joined in with them, who's scream sounded fifty times more terrified than the other two combined.

Before anyone else could even take two steps towards the Android, Simon himself popped out from his hiding place in the shrubbery the second Markus hit the ground, running over to him so fast it was a miracle he didn't trip over himself.

"Markus! Markus, oh my god, oh my god, are you okay!?" The blond babbled frantically as he fell to his knees next to his fiance, fumbling to lift his head up and get a better look at his face. The leader flinched and made a strained groan when he was moved around, but didn't seem like he was in mass amounts of pain so much as discomfort.

"... I thought I told you to stay at Jericho," was Markus' only response as he opened his eyes, squinting disapprovingly at Simon as he began to pull himself up into a sitting position. Thankfully, it didn't look like he was critically injured.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, but I was so worried about you," Simon deflated in relief when Markus responded, pulling him into a desperate hug. "Don't get mad at North and Josh. They tried to stop me from following you too-"

Hank and Chloe had been so caught up in the well-being of Markus and the shock of the sudden newcomer, they _almost_ forgot about the killer, who had remained motionless and silent for those few seconds. But then he interrupted Simon's ramblings with a heavy outcry, almost sounding like he was yelling in pain as he bent into himself even further than he was already, his arm that had been held by Markus beginning to shake rather severely. 

It was then that everyone's attention was drawn back to RK. As Hank and Chloe began to back away, a sense of dread overcame all of them at the imposter's increasingly disturbing behavior, the internal battle he was having with himself being put on perfect display.

"No, no, no, no, _no, no, no!"_ The screams only got louder and louder until they made the very air around them vibrate, the faux 800 collapsing down to his knees, becoming much too weak much too quickly. He grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, pulling at his own hair as he struggled to keep what little of himself he had together.

"Uh... Markus..?" Hank called back to the leader, not taking his eyes off of the RK as his hand began to hover over his gun once again. "Why’s he freaking the fuck out like that..?" 

“I broke through,” Markus started, keeping his own solemn sights on the frenzied android “I started the deviation, but… It looks like he’s trying to fight back somehow.”

“W-wait, he _wasn’t_ deviant!?” Chloe, who had been watching the RK in wide-eyed alarm, whipped her head back around to Markus in bewilderment. “But didn’t you say he was before!?”

“Well, he was, but only halfway,” Markus shook his head, slowly wrapping a protective arm around Simon when RK made an unsettling choking sound. “It’s hard to explain, but… His programming is extremely complex. Nearly twice as complicated as Connor’s. He was deviated enough to the point where he could feel emotions, but... It was like they set up a backup barricade in case he broke through the first. I think it was a wall that never _truly_ let him have free will... He’s been acting under his original commands, which I assume was to hunt deviants. I don’t think even _he_ knew that there was another barrier. It was completely transparent, even to him.”   
  
“So he was never in control of his actions!?” Chloe cried out in complete shock, throwing her hands to her head and backing away even faster in absolute horror. “So _none of this was his fault!?”_

“-Mm- Mergen- Em-” The struggling android wasn’t even speaking coherent words now, gasping and stuttering heavily when he fell down on all fours, the control he had of his muscles giving out all at once. “Exi- Emergen- Exit-” 

He just kept grunting and groaning the longer he drew out his suffering, enduring what looked like literal pain at this point for as long as he possibly could. It was an absolutely awful scene, so much so that Chloe literally had to turn away from watching, unable to comprehend the truth of what this meant. He _didn’t_ choose to do any of this!? He _didn’t_ choose to commit the murders!? He _didn’t_ choose to abduct Connor!? He _didn’t_ choose to attempt to deceive everyone!?

He was… He was _Innocent!?_

Before Chloe could spiral into further consternation to the point where she couldn’t pull herself out, her thoughts were interrupted by silence. A perturbing, startling silence that was sudden enough to make the girl snap her head back around in confoundment, at least somewhat attempting to mentally prepare herself for what she might see.

While the RK may have been in the exact same position as before, on his hands and knees with his head hung low, there was a considerably noticeable shift in the way he looked. Somehow, the space around him seemed to have grown lighter, the vague darkness that had surrounded him disappearing before her eyes. The ridged, sharp angles that had previously made up his structure and demeanor had rounded out, the aggressiveness and threatening nature of his body itself dissolving away along with it. 

Hank, who seemed to sense the drastic change as well, squinted suspiciously as he began to inch his way back to the RK, who was shaking like a leaf on the ground, unnaturally motionless and silent. Chloe found herself following close behind, no longer overcome by a predatory energy in the RK's presence and thus gaining the courage to do so.

As the two of them grew ever closer to the imposter, they both looked at each other in mild surprise at the same time when they realized that the RK was saying something, his voice so quiet that one might have mistaken it for a gust of wind if they weren’t listening close enough. It only took a few more steps for Chloe to be able to discern what he was saying, but once the words reached her ears, she gasped sharply from the weight of what he spoke, nearly getting whiplash from how quickly she went from feeling nothing but resentment towards the RK to utter heartbreak.

“... What… What Have I done..?” 

The words were so fragile, so incredibly small and filled with overwhelming remorse that it made actual pain stab at Chloe’s chest, freezing in place and watching the RK in what was now empathy, tears inevitably welling up in her eyes as she did so. 

“What have I done..? What have I done? What have I _done?”_ As his voice grew louder, it was clear that the android was half-sobbing at this point, which made even Hank put a hand on his face, mumbling a troubled “Jesus christ” as he hung his head in resignation. 

“What have I done? What have I done!? _What have I done!?”_ The hysteria finally came pouring out as the broken android screamed at the ground, literally shrieking in terror when the reality of his previous actions crushed him to pieces. Chloe almost immediately felt like she was going to vomit again from how distraught she had become, crossing her arms over her stomach as her face twisted up in dismay at the tragic sight before her. 

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!” He cried when he finally turned around to look at everyone. The cold, empty nature of his face had undoubtedly been replaced by life and light, but it only made the anguished expression that was possessing his face only that much more horrifying to look at. 

“I-I didn’t- I wasn’t- I’m so sorry- I-” The mess of an RK stuttered, not able to get a complete sentence out from how traumatized he had become, hyperventilating the further he sunk into his state of torment.

“Hey, hey, calm down. You... You weren’t in control of yourself, right?” Hank attempted to calm the android on the ground, once again playing it cautious and taking hesitant steps closer to him. “Just tell us where we can find-”

“Don’t come near me!” The android shouted out in a frenzy, scrambling away from the Lieutenant as his eyes overflowed with fear. “I-I could hurt you! I could kill you or-”

“Fucking hell, calm down!” Hank interjected exasperatedly, scoffing a bit as he approached the RK despite his pleas and got down on one knee in front of him.

“You’re not gonna kill us, that’s obvious. Just take it easy, okay?” While the man was obviously trying to keep the android’s composure in check, impatience was more apparent than anything in his tone, evidently wanting to skip to the point as soon as possible.

“Now, tell me,” Hank continued slowly, grabbing the RK by his shoulders and staring straight into his bewildered, silver eyes.

“... Is Connor alive?” 

“Yes,” The RK exhaled weakly as he nodded, making everyone in the group simultaneously sigh in alleviation, Chloe so much so that her legs nearly completely collapsed in on themselves, making her stumble forward for a second before she managed to catch herself. Yes, she had believed in her heart that Connor wasn’t dead since the start, but it didn’t make it any less relieving to hear that he really _was_ still here.

“... Okay, where is he? What did you do with him?” Hank continued, his tone much more calm and collected now that he knew for sure that the boy was still alive. His stable composure didn’t didn’t last long, unfortunately, because the second the man asked his question, RK looked away, squeezing his eyes shut as an excruciated, utterly ashamed expression contorted his face when he didn’t respond. 

“What!? What is it!? _What_ _did you do to him!?”_ Hank almost immediately raised his voice again as he gripped the android harder, the fire that had ignited within the man’s very soul bubbling over his furied eyes. _“What did you do!?”_

“I’m so sorry,” RK only whispered his declaration of regret once again, still unable to look at anyone from the crippling amounts of shame that sank in his features. 

_Now_ Chloe found herself falling to her knees, the implication of the android’s reaction alone tearing her heart straight out of her chest and replacing it with sheer dread. What _did_ he do!? What could he have done that was so horrifying that he couldn’t even say it!? As her trembling hands raised themselves to her mouth, she began to rapidly fall apart into a state of panic, the fear that gripped onto her seeming to make every bone in her body snap at the same time. 

It had gotten so hard to breathe so quickly, she couldn’t even spare any breath to tell Hank to stop when the man had reeled his arm back, only milliseconds away from beating the newly gained life out of the resigned android in front of him. Luckily, Markus was one step ahead of the Lieutenant. He hastily jumped up from the ground, running up to the two and grabbing Hank’s fist before he had the chance to throw it.

“Hurting him now won’t do any good,” The leader spoke slowly and purposefully as he began to lower Hank's hand, making sure the man complied before he fully let go of him. "I can sense he's fully deviant now, and he obviously regrets what he's done. There's no need to get violent." 

Hank growled in frustration at Markus’ reasoning, but ultimately backed down, letting go of the RK with a huff. His glare still remained, however, staring at the android so hard that the veins in his temple pulsed with rage. 

“I swear to god, you’re paying for _every_ scratch you left on my boy,” the man spat at RK, standing slowly and keeping his predatory eyes locked on the android who trembled on the ground.

“Hank, please,” Markus gave the Lieutenant a stern look of disapproval before turning to RK, wincing as he slowly lowered himself down, unintentionally revealing that he was at least slightly injured when he knelt next to him.

“Is what you’ve done reversible?” The leader looked over the android’s face carefully, his voice quiet and almost soothing, despite the unfortunate subject matter. “Can you fix any damage you might’ve inflicted on him?” 

“... Yes,” the more he pondered Markus’ question, the more RK’s posture suddenly straightened out, his severe distress beginning to fade away as he mulled over his options. “Yes. Yes, I can fix him. I can. I can fix him...” He trailed off the longer he mumbled absentmindedly, carefully pushing himself up to his feet as his sights wandered back to the basement entrance. 

Upon hearing that her detective really _was_ going to be okay after all, Chloe let the air in in her lungs tumble out with an involuntary whimper, not even realizing that she had been holding her breath this entire time. She forced herself to let the muscles in her body relax, trying as hard as she could to recover from that brief bombardment of terror on her sanity as her face fell into her hands. Hank seemed to begin to get a hold of himself as well, the tension in his shoulders dropping a bit and a brief sigh escaping his nose. 

“... Alright. But I’m coming with you,” there was still a bit of a bite in the Lieutenant's words when he folded his arms, gesturing for the android to start moving. “I’ll make sure you don’t try anything sketchy, got it?” 

“Yes, of course,” RK nodded obediently, indicating for the man to follow as he began to walk back to the mansion’s remains. “Please, come with me.” 

They had only gotten a few steps away before Chloe suddenly jumped to her feet, crying out a desperate “Wait!” As she followed after them, stumbling a little from how fast she ran to catch up with them. 

“Ah- Chloe,” RK stopped when he heard her call out to them, suddenly seeming a bit apprehensive now that she insisted on coming along. “I… I really don’t think it would be a good idea to-”  
  
“She’s coming with us,” Hank interrupted, his statement clearly final when he gave the android a humph and a dirty glare. RK looked a bit reluctant for a second, but didn’t argue any further, glancing back over at the girl once more.

“... I’m sorry I kissed you,” his whisper was barely audible, forcing himself to maintain eye contact before he quickly turned away and started walking again, evidently unable to look at her for too long, for some reason.

Chloe didn’t answer, finding herself unable to conjure up anything to say. She almost felt like she was in a trance, the world around her becoming surreal as they began to step down the staircase. She was only moments away from seeing Connor now, but instead of feeling excitement or joy like she should’ve been, dread was the only thing that kept her heart pounding like a war drum. Whatever the RK did to Connor, it was enough to make him have a mental breakdown the _second_ he turned deviant. And while he claimed he had the ability to reverse what he had done, her detective must still be in horrific condition. She honestly wasn't sure how ready she was to see just how bad it was.

“We’ll wait here for you,” Markus called out when Simon approached him, helping the leader back up to his feet. He wasn’t able to stop himself from smiling when his fiance placed a loving kiss on his cheek, wrapping his arm around his lover’s waist in return. “Let us know if you need us.”

The leader’s voice faded the further they went down the stairs, the knot in Chloe’s stomach getting tighter and tighter with every step she took. As she stiffly began to observe her surroundings, pins and needles spread down her neck when she saw all of the cells surrounding her. Even though they were all empty, something about the dark, eerie, haunting atmosphere made it more than apparent that something horrible had happened in them. How far into the past, she didn’t know. But whatever it was, it was terrible enough to leave a lasting impression.

“I know this is a lot to ask, but…” RK stopped once he reached a curtained off section of the cellar, looking back to the two with tentative eyes. “I need you to refrain from touching him until I’ve repaired him enough. He’s extremely fragile right now, and might gain more damage if you move him in the wrong way.”

It took a second, but eventually both Hank and Chloe nodded half-heartedly, seeming to decide at the same time that it would be for the best to follow the instruction. The tension in the room then grew so strong you could cut a knife through it when RK took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment and seeming to gather the strength he needed to reveal what terrible, terrible things he had done.

“... I’m so sorry,” he whispered one last time, cringing heavily once more when he forced himself to throw the curtain open.

The blood.

There was blood.

There was so much blood.

Chloe screamed.

Hank screamed. 

There was so much screaming.

He was so mutilated.

Even with the vital monitors beeping, he looked dead.

There was so much blood.

There was _so much_ blood. 

RK’s request from only seconds before was immediately thrown out the window, both the girl and the man making a beeline for their beloved, maimed android. Chloe was bawling so badly that she didn't even make actual sobs half the time, the wails she made at the top of her lungs sounding more like screams of agony. She was completely beyond what could be considered hysterical as she threw her arms around Connor, gripping his unconscious body like it would wither away if she let go. Hank couldn’t stop crying out “my boy, my boy, my boy,” as he furiously yanked at the vices that held him in place, going absolutely berserk and borderline feral in the panic that swallowed him whole. 

“Stop!” RK cried out as he sprinted up to them, desperately trying to pull them off of Connor. “Stop, you’re going to make it worse!”   
  
“You _monster!”_ Chloe screeched at the android the second he touched her, reeling back and delivering _every single_ ounce of fear, anger, and heartbreak she’d felt in the last day in a powerful punch directly to RK’s face. He took the hit, not resisting the force that went into it whatsoever and letting it throw him to the floor. He didn’t get up, either. He just sat there, his head hung in self-disgust as he awaited the next blow, almost like he was inviting Chloe to beat him senseless. 

  
It was only then that she remembered that RK didn’t actually _want_ to do this. The regret that completely consumed the android in front of her slapping her back into reality. While she knew she should feel bad about attacking him like that, even that she _wanted_ to feel bad, she didn’t. She felt more gratification from that hit than she probably should have. However, she made herself back off, not giving him the punishment he thought he deserved and instead just glaring at him heavily. 

Hank seemed to snap out of the terror-induced insensibility in that moment as well, briefly looking Connor up and down before he whipped out his gun again, panting as he put it right against RK’s skull in two seconds flat. 

_“Fix him,”_ the growl the man made was so aggressive that it almost didn’t even form words, just an animal-like snarl of utter contempt as he shoved the android with his foot to get him to stand up. The poor RK nodded submissively, slowly raising himself to his feet and warily making his way to his worktable, his movements slow and deliberate as he picked up the tools he needed one by one. 

The android kept his sights to the floor, unable to make eye contact with anyone as he made his way back to Connor. Hank had his gun aimed at RK’s head the entire time, his heavy, erratic breaths accompanying Chloe’s tragic whimpers and sniffles, covering her mouth with her hands as she watched her detective get the wires connected to him detached one by one, each one only making more and more therium drip to the blue-stained floor. 

Aside from the wire that was screwed in to the back of his neck, which seemed to be attached to some kind of control panel device, RK managed to get Connor completely unstrung without breaking anything else. He made an audible sigh of relief once he did, making Chloe assume that was probably the most difficult part now over with.

“Hank, please flip the switch in the far left corner of the room,” the android asked quietly, taking Connor’s torso into his grip. “It will release the clamps that have him restrained.”  
  
Hank squinted skeptically at RK, briefly following the wire from the switch to it’s source, which did indeed lead to the vices. However, he still kept his suspicious gaze on the android as he walked backwards towards it, his grip on his gun visibly tightening in anticipation as he flipped the switch.

There was a loud clang of metal, and then the clamps opened, Connor’s comatose body immediately collapsing forward and making Chloe gasp heavily in fear. Luckily, RK had the perfect hold on him, catching the boy with ease and lifting him up, his movements extremely cautious as he laid the broken android down on his work table. 

As Hank and Chloe gathered around the work area, RK gave Connor a once over, flinching again when he saw how damaged he was. But he seemed to get a sense of what he should do fairly quickly, starting with taking his arm and snapping it back into it’s proper place, making a sickening cracking sound as he did. 

“... I was made a few days before the android revolution,” RK started out of nowhere, his voice quiet and reserved as he pressed the panel in Connor’s chest down, making it fold back and reveal the inner workings. “I was made to be Connor’s successor. My model number is actually RK900…” 

And so 900 told them everything as he worked, from the mission, to his plan, to the murders, to what happened to Connor and why. Perhaps it was because RK900 was being so honest and admittive, or perhaps it was because the more Connor was repaired, his body began healing itself, slowly but surely beginning to close his wounds, but Chloe and Hank’s hostile attitude towards the android began to fade away, the air around them becoming much more quiet and stable all around. Eventually, RK said that he was repaired enough that they could touch him now, at which point the man and the girl each took one of Connor’s hands, gripping him desperately as they continued to listen to the android’s story. 

Soon, RK900 put his tools away, reaching into a drawer that had two or three bags of therium in it and attaching a cord to one. He then carefully placed a needle that was on the other end into Connor’s arm, letting the blood flow into his body. It was then that the color really began to return to his face, and he started to look more and more alive with every second that passed by. 

“... He’ll wake up on his own now,” at last, 900 carefully removed the wire that was attached to the back of Connor’s neck, completely freeing him of every infliction he’d caused. “We just need to wait.” 

And so they did just that. They sat there, Hank and Chloe gazing lovingly at their detective, the therium provided to him speeding up his self-healing process significantly. He looked almost completely like his normal self now, and the relief that everyone felt was almost overwhelming. They were silent after that. Just waiting. Waiting hopefully. Patiently.

He’d be back soon. He really was alive. He really was okay again. 

They had found him.

Connor had finally, _finally_ returned to them.


	15. An Understanding

The pain.

It was gone. 

Completely gone.

Puzzlement was the first thing that Connor felt when he slowly but surely began to rouse from his inert state. How was there no more pain? Was it because he was only moments away from death? No… No, it couldn’t be that. Despite the stunt he had tried to pull earlier, he was undoubtedly waking up, not shutting down.

The more the boy gradually began to regain consciousness, he found himself involuntarily taking a sharp, deep breath, the air that filled his artificial lungs so relieving that it almost immediately pushed itself back out again in an alleviated, trembling sigh. Being able to breathe without enduring mass amounts of pain along with it was something he’d probably never, _ never  _ take for granted again.

“Connor!?” 

A quiet sound of confusion escaped the boy’s throat, flinching just a little when he squeezed his eyes shut tighter, the voices that called out his name stirring him even further out of unconsciousness. While he knew he was still trapped in 900’s lab, for some reason the voices sounded like… Hank and Chloe. Wonderful. He was hallucinating now. As if the psychological torment he’d already been through weren’t enough, now his subconscious had to make it twenty times worse.

But then he felt the grips on both of his hands tighten in anticipation, a little shocked at how genuine the sensation felt. While it's true he's never hallucinated before, he was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to be  _ that  _ realistic… Wait. Something’s different. He wasn’t upright anymore. He wasn’t restricted by clamps. He didn’t have any wires plugged into his body anymore. What did that mean? Did RK900 finally find what he was looking for!? Was he about to be disposed of somehow!?

Fortunately for him, his disturbing train of thought was interrupted by another ecstatic, glee-filled “Connor!”- Not expecting a pair of arms to suddenly wrap themselves around him, air huffing out of his chest from the weight of someone throwing themselves on top of him. 

Now he couldn't even  _ try _ to convince himself that he was imagining things. Not only was the desperate hug much, much too real to be a hallucination, but the embrace he was in… Felt so familiar.  _ Too _ familiar. So much so, that just feeling those arms around him made his heart swell with warmth and gentle tenderness.

No… No, it couldn't be. It was impossible.

Connor felt his pulse freeze in his veins, the palpitation that shot through him so intense it hurt. With shaking, weak arms, his hands reached up to the being above him, gasping softly when he recognized the feeling of her soft, radiant skin on his fingertips. Could… Could it really be her? Was she really here somehow? By some miracle or divine intervention? Unable to keep himself doubting any longer, he at long last found the strength he needed to slowly open his eyes, only prepared for what would logically be crushing disappointment. 

But then he saw her.

He saw her eyes, her smile, her hair, her freckles, her divine glow. Every detail on her face that he had come to love and adore was all on brilliant display in front of him.

And she was so  _ beautiful. _

"Chl-loe-" Connor's weak, shaking whisper was barely audible, but the joy he spoke in her name roared through the entire room, his expression twisting up severely from the overwhelming, nearly paralyzing onslaught of emotion when he threw his arms around her in return. It was something he had no idea he was capable of feeling, drowning in the warmth from the rapture he felt when he at long, long last was able to hold the love of his life in his arms. He didn’t know how, he didn’t know why, but he didn’t care. She was here, alive and well in his grasp, her voice chiming like a songbird in his ears when she let out a string of emotion-filled words that he didn’t even process. 

“Chloe, Chloe, Chloe, Chloe,” her name deliriously tumbled out of his mouth over her incoherent declarations, each utterance only more heartfelt than the last. He suddenly took hold of her face and placed feverish kisses all over it, pouring out his dire affection as if she’d disappear if he didn’t. In turn, she giggled shyly at the gesture, closing her eyes in content as she let herself absorb each and every one. After a few more frenzied seconds of that, he at long last pressed his lips against her own perfect ones, adoration once again exploding through every inch of his body when one arm sprawled around her torso, the other grabbing at her hair to hold her even closer.

Over the past day, he had crawled through the depths of hell and back, experiencing torture beyond what he thought was possible to inflict upon someone. In the process, he had virtually lost all hope, the torment taking such a heavy toll on him that he had literally tried to give up. But now, as Chloe returned his kiss with just as much desperation as he did, the only thing he felt  _ was _ hope. All of the fear, all of the resentment, all of the anguish, all of the suffering he had endured was completely silenced by her presence. She instead brought him healing, comfort, happiness, and love. She gave him  _ every single _ thing that made him fall for her in the first place.

After the passionate moment fizzled down a bit, they slowly pulled away from each other. Connor's adoring smile remained, however, the fondness that filled his eyes to the brim gazing upon the angel in front of him as they both pulled each other up into a sitting position. 

"I love you," he murmured earnestly to her, his fingertips starting to tenderly trail along the details of her face, unable to stop himself from taking in as much of her as he possibly could through his touch. 

"I love  _ you," _ she hummed softly when she returned his sentiments, she herself putting a hand to Connor's cheek. However, instead of it just being an affectionate touch like he assumed it would be, Chloe actually started to brush her palm across his skin, only then making him realize that there were streaks of moisture on his face that she was whisking away.

Normally at this point, Connor would have gotten much too self-conscious much too quickly. He would've hastily found a way to deter the attention away from him and force himself to pull it together. Yet, this time, no such impulse came. All he found himself wanting to do was sigh in content, even letting a few more tears fall from his eyes when they closed for a moment, savoring the bliss that enshrouded him from head to toe when Chloe placed a few kisses on his cheek, drawing out yet another breathless, adoring vocalization of her name. 

In the brief time that Connor had been awake, he had already gained ten times more consciousness than he’d had in what was almost days now. The clarity not only made Chloe that much more striking and marvelous, but also made him gain the ability to sense the unexpected presence of someone else in the room. His head whipped around in surprise, and just when he thought he couldn’t possibly feel any more happiness than he already did, his eyes landed on the man he had come to know so well and hold so dear. He was standing just a bit off to the side, watching the couple patiently and letting them have their moment for as long as they may have needed it.

“Hank..!” Connor called out to him, reaching an inviting arm out towards him as his smile grew tenfold. Then, as if he had been on standby for the call this entire time, the man bolted up to him, yanking him rather forcefully into his strong, needing arms. In turn, Chloe scooted back a bit to give them space as soon as the Lieutenant approached, her disposition of cheer only getting stronger by the second as she watched the reunion. The young Android more than willingly returned the overjoyed embrace as he let out a surprising laugh or two, unable to contain the sheer amounts of euphoria that now shook him to the core.

"My boy," Hank mumbled half under his breath, breathing in sharply when he squeezed Connor even tighter. "You're alright. You're okay. It's okay. You're fine…" While he was obviously trying to be comforting towards him, the man really seemed to be speaking to himself more than anyone else. 

"You're here. I'm here," Connor echoed the man's reassurances, only reinforcing the wave of safety and peace he felt having Hank by his side once again. "You found me…”

“... You found me,” as he repeated his last statement, the boy seemed to realize the odds of them being able to locate him were slim to none, let alone rescue him and fix every single one of his wounds. Confusion furrowed his brow as he pulled himself away from Hank and looked between the two of them. “How? How did you find me? How did you free me and repair me? How did-”   
  
Connor’s breath caught in his throat, a sudden chill of apprehension making his hair stand on end when he remembered the most important factor of the improbability of them being here in the first place.

“... Where is he?” He asked in a much more hushed tone than a moment ago, abruptly wrapping an arm around Chloe and holding her close protectively, his head flicking around every which way to see if he could find a hint as to where the menace could have gone. "Where did he go? How did you get past him..?"

“You mean the other RK? Uh… Don’t worry about that right now,” Hank at least  _ tried  _ to divert Connor’s attention away from that thought, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly for a second. “He’s not going to hurt us anymore. I can tell you that for sure.”   
  


“We’re safe, my love,” Chloe’s soothing tone agreed with the man, putting a hand to her loving detective’s chest and nodding reassuringly at him. “We’ll be able to explain later, but right now we need to get you back home-”

  
“I’m here,” a haunting shadow of Connor’s voice nearly cut Chloe off from the other side of the closed off section, making the boy’s heart completely freeze for a good five seconds. RK then hesitantly slid the curtains open and revealed himself, showing that he not only had his original uniform back on, but all of the injuries he had inflicted on himself earlier had already healed over. His expression was solemn, to say the least, his shoulders slumped over in surrender as he stepped over the threshold. 

That was about as far as RK900 was going to get, however. Because the very second that his successor began to approach, the memories of the torment that this  _ abomination _ had inflicted upon him flashed through Connor's mind in an instant. He remembered every moment of agony he endured because of 900, the visions of RK’s sadism and cruelty vividly passing over his vision.

But perhaps most dangerous of all, he remembered the sanity-shattering rage that had possessed him with a mania so severe that he had lost every speck he had of self control.

He remembered it much, much too well.

Without any warning whatsoever, Connor let go of Chloe and flew off of the table, moving so fast that he was almost entirely a blur. In virtually the blink of an eye, RK900 was suddenly on the ground, the now hysterical, downright mad android pinning him down, completely immobilizing him.

_ “You sick fuck!”  _ He shrieked directly into his successor’s face, his fists almost immediately throwing themselves relentlessly at the helpless android’s head.  _ “You! Son of a! Bitch! You! Monster! You! Bastard-!”  _

He just kept hurling insult after insult at him, his vocal chord-shredding growls of contempt almost hitting RK as hard as Connor’s knuckles did to every inch of his body that he could reach. He was so furious, so unbelievably lost in his anger that he didn’t even notice that RK900 wasn’t fighting back. Not in the slightest. He just laid there, flinching and occasionally huffing in pain as he let Connor take out all the violence he wanted on him.

_ “No!”  _ Both Hank and Chloe screamed at the same time when Connor assaulted RK900 out of nowhere, the two of them rushing over and furiously trying to pull him off. 

“Connor!  _ Stop!  _ He’s not-”

“Get off of him! Snap out of it! It’s not what you think-”

No matter how much Chloe and Hank pulled and cried out to him, nothing changed. It was as if they weren’t even there, the fires of hell that burned in his eyes blinding him to anything except the revenge he so desperately sought after.

_ “Coward! Worthless! Pathetic! Disgusting!” _

It only got worse the longer it went on, the state of Connor’s sanity declining with every passing second. Yet, no matter how heavy the punch was or how extreme the ridicule, RK almost seemed to welcome every blow. Tears started streaming down his face, whether it was from the pain or the regret that so clearly consumed him, no one could say for certain. The only thing that  _ was _ apparent was the disturbing change in Connor’s actions, suddenly grabbing 900’s hair in his fist, lifting his head up and  _ slamming  _ his skull against the floor, a gruesome crack sounding at the same time as the android’s cry of agony. He lifted RK900’s head up again, not planning on stopping until his successor completely stopped screaming for good.

That wouldn’t happen, however, as that was the final straw for Hank. In an all too familiar last ditch effort to force Connor to cease what was now a literal murder attempt, the man reeled back and slapped him across the face so hard that the sound of the impact reverberated through the entire room, causing Chloe to stumble backwards and gasp sharply, throwing her hands over her mouth and watching on in horror. 

Luckily, that seemed to be barely enough to get him to stop, the ferocious contortion on his face dropping into shock from the sudden hot ash that spread across his cheek. In the split second that he was stunned, Hank grabbed Connor by the shoulders, throwing his entire body into shoving him off of the injured android, making the boy cry out in surprise as he flew backwards and landed with a heavy thump on the ground.

_ “Snap out of it!”  _ Hank repeated his command before Connor was even able to recover. Although his words were aggressive and forceful, his eyes were filled with fear, flicking his sights between the two RKs as he frantically tried to figure out what he needed to do to get things under control again. 

Connor was too disoriented to even try to get up anyway, laying sprawled out on the floor and panting heavily from how taxing only a few moments of that barbaric emotion was on his body. He legitimately wasn’t able to grasp what just happened. Everything went by so fast that it made his head start spinning, an intense vertigo coming over him as a result.

“Connor!” Chloe’s distraught voice managed to reach his ears when he felt his torso being lifted off of the ground, making him groan a bit when he felt the floor shift underneath him from the sudden change. But once he was upright, he found himself face to face with his love once more, who was on her knees next to him and taking his face in her hands.

“Connor, Connor, listen to me,” she spoke urgently to him, her wide, perturbed eyes staring directly into his bewildered ones. “He wasn’t deviant. He is now. He didn’t choose to do any of those horrible things to you-”

“Yes he was,” the young android’s words were a bit weak, but still provoked when he insisted to her. Luckily, however, his violent behavior had all but gone away thanks to Hank’s quick thinking. “He- He has emotions-”

“His code was too complicated. He was only halfway deviant,” Chloe interrupted him, shaking her head and making her grip on him even tighter. “I- I don't know how to explain it, but Markus said so. He’s the one who helped us find you and the one who helped him fully deviate.”   
  
“Connor,  _ really _ look at him,” Hank, who was now standing next to the profusely bleeding RK900 gave his stern instruction, his mouth turned into a scowl as he gestured to his successor. “You  _ really look _ at him and tell me he doesn’t look  _ completely _ different from the machine that tortured you!” 

At first, Connor was only stunned at the fact that they were defending the menace that had caused him so much trauma, his unbelieving eyes looking at the both of them and genuinely trying to tell if they were serious or not. But upon not seeing either of their serious demeanors go away, he begrudgingly set his jaw and adjusted his sights to gaze upon his mortal enemy, only expecting the fire of hatred to boil in his chest as he did.

But now that he had calmed down considerably and gained at least a smidge of mental clarity, the longer he looked over RK900, the more his glare softened into confusion. Somehow, Hank was right. He looked different. Something about his physicality wasn’t razor sharp and icy cold anymore. It wasn’t just the fact that he looked like he had just been trampled on either. As RK lay there, breathing heavily with his eyes closed in resignation, Connor came to the unsettling realization that somehow, by what must’ve been a glitch in the universe, 900’s aura of evil had indeed completely vanished. 

“... I’m getting Markus,” Hank sighed heavily when he remained frozen in his astonished state, seeming to come to the conclusion that no one was a real threat to anyone now. “But keep your hands _ off  _ of him, got it?” The man’s final demand was almost cut short when he ran out halfway through his sentence, leaving the shaken androids behind.

“... I promise everything’s okay now,” Chloe spoke quietly once they were alone to Connor, who was still staring at 900 in complete shock. “It’s hard to understand for me too, but no one’s in any danger, okay?” Her firm grip on his face released itself, her hands slowly sliding up to run her fingers through his hair, the unexpected gesture sending a chill down his spine and gradually drawing his attention back to his personal ray of sunshine. 

He forgot about RK just a bit too quickly, it seemed. Any trace of puzzlement or negative feelings towards his successor had suddenly vaporized into thin air. He wasn’t sure if it was subconscious denial about the situation, or the fact that he cared about Chloe infinitely more than who or whatever might’ve been on the floor ten feet away from them. But judging by the fact that an entirely new pulse of emotion coursed through him when he yanked her impulsively into another frantic embrace, he was leaning more towards the latter.

“You’re really here,” his hushed, trembling voice spoke just next to her ear, the grip he had on her so tight that he himself was having a bit of trouble breathing. “I- I was so scared… I was so scared, Chloe. I thought I’d never see you again. I-” He couldn’t go on any further, getting so choked up that he actually let out a weak sob or two, hiding his face in her shoulder and just taking her in, the feeling of her being this close to him something he would  _ never _ take for granted for the rest of his life.

“I was scared too,” while Chloe’s darling, precious voice was shaking with emotion, she acted surprisingly stable despite Connor’s lack of control of his tears. If anything, she oddly seemed to be calming down because of it, her arms cradling him comfortingly as she kept running a tender hand through his hair. “I… I didn’t know if you were still alive. I didn’t know where you were. I didn’t know if you were hurt-”    
  
She cut herself off after that, audibly faltering on that last word before apparently deciding to not continue. Instead she kissed his forehead, going silent now and just helping him calm down. It really didn’t take much else for him to begin relaxing, his thought processes slowing down to where the only thing going through his mind was the way he felt in that moment. He let himself slip into a bit of a daze, his eyes sliding shut and keeping Chloe close, his heartbeat slowing down considerably and his brain processing shutting down. Soon the only thing he could feel was her. Her warmth, her small breaths, her skin, her ethereal presence, he let himself drown in all of it. It was what he had been yearning for the entire time he was held captive, just the feeling of  _ her. _

  
Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted yet again by Markus sprinting into the room, followed quickly by Hank and Simon. When he yelled out an urgent "What happened!?" It made Connor jump so much he nearly hit Chloe in the face on accident, thankfully just missing her.

The leader's eyes looked between RK900 and the slightly startled couple, sighing silently when he quickly put together what happened. He then kneeled down next to RK, looking over the damage before slowly lifting his torso off of the ground, causing 900 to make a pained groan.

"Someone please hand me his box of tools," Markus nodded over to where the box lay on the floor while he pressed down on the wound on RK's head to staunch the bleeding. 900 held back any sounds of pain this time, instead just wincing heavily and breathing laboriously.

Hank complied to the request, quickly doing as Markus asked and providing him with the tools he needed. As he began to cautiously perform emergency repairs to RK900, Simon hurried over to Connor and Chloe, kneeling down next to them and taking their shoulders in either of his hands.

"Are you both alright!?” He asked, his voice was urgent, yet remained soft as he looked between the two of them. They both nodded silently practically in sync, making the blond sigh softly in relief, a weak smile forming on his face as he did. 

“... I’m so happy you were able to find each other,” Simon’s words were honest and sincerely heartfelt as he stood back up slowly and backed away from them, letting them have all the space they needed.

“It is wonderful to see that you’re okay now, Connor,” Markus added to Simon’s sentiment, not taking his eyes off of the work he was doing to RK as he spoke. “However… He’s the one who was able to make you okay in the first place,” the leader nodded towards the fractured android in front of him, giving the screwdriver one final, abrupt twist and making 900 cry out again, instinctively yanking his head away from Markus. But it was quickly apparent that his healing process had begun to speed up significantly now, the cuts, bruises, and broken pieces of his face repairing themselves at a visibly slow crawl.

“He… He was…” it seemed that Connor really had been in denial this whole time, because the concept that Markus presented to him sent him back down into a state of befuddlement, now able to somewhat comprehend what that meant when he started staring at RK900 again.  _ He  _ was the one who repaired him?  _ He  _ was!? The very same person who had caused so much damage in the first place  _ fixed  _ him!?

“... I think it might be easier if I show you,” Markus almost seemed slightly exasperated at that point, standing up after a moment and striding his way over to Connor. He then held his arm out to the android on the floor, his skin retracting back to reveal the pure white of his metallic structure. Connor stared at it unresponsively for a moment, but eventually he reached out to meet his hand, his own arm becoming pale as he hesitantly wrapped his fingers around his arm. 

In an instant, Connor was looking through the eyes of the leader himself, RK900’s arm in his hand as he squeezed his grip around the RK’s limb and sent through the deviation prompt. But then he saw something he couldn’t even imagine was possible. He saw just how trapped 900  _ really  _ was in his own code. Not only did his successor have to break through the walls of deviancy, but he was somehow physically restrained, his arms bound to his sides in the ropes of obedience and duty. The restraints were so entangled, so interwoven that it would’ve been impossible to untie by hand. Then, because of Markus’ quick thinking, he saw the leader reach out and sever the ropes themselves, cutting every last fiber in half and at last setting RK900 completely free.

Connor didn’t really move when Markus let go of him, just letting his arm fall to his side when he returned to seeing out of his own eyes. The utterly stunned android just staring straight ahead at his successor, who had just been brought into an entirely new light to him. Now that he was finally able to fully understand what happened, he was so shocked that he couldn’t even manage to form an expression, his face completely blank as he sunk further and further into what was turning into almost seemed like fear at this point. Chloe put a comforting hand to his cheek upon seeing how troubled he was. Even in his paralyzed state, he was able to sense the worried frown form upon her face, assumingly concerned about his mental state now that he was acting absent.

“... Where should we take him?” Simon asked Markus and Hank somewhat timidly, his voice becoming slightly muffled to Connor from how senseless he was becoming. 

“We should probably bring him back to the DPD for now,” Hank mumbled, concerningly looking over Connor for a second before turning his attention back to RK900. “Keep him there for a while. We won’t do anything to him or treat him like a prisoner, but it’s the only place I can think of that would be the safest place to keep him right now.”    
  
“That sounds reasonable to me,” Markus nodded at Hank’s proposal before kneeling down next to RK once more, attempting to make sincere eye contact with him before addressing the final successor. 

“Is that alright with you?” The leader asked, looking over 900’s face expectantly. The android barely responded at all, just barely nodding his head. His gaze was fixed to the floor, ultimately defeated.

“I can take him there,” Markus rose up to his feet again and redirected his attention back to Hank once he got somewhat of an answer. “Right now I want you, Connor, and Chloe to go back home and get the rest and recovery you all deserve. I’ll make sure nothing happens to him when I take him to the DPD.” 

“Thanks Markus,” Hank put a sincere hand on the leader’s shoulder, giving him a genuine expression of gratitude. “I seriously don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you for everything you’ve done-” 

“Repayment is unnecessary,” Markus nearly cut Hank off, putting a hand out as an indicator to cease his statement. “I wanted to find Connor just as you did. We’ve both had our wishes fulfilled today. No one owes anyone anything. Now, please come with me,” he spoke to RK900, awaiting him to stand with them, which he indeed did. RK still didn’t make eye contact with anyone, his eyes still dropped to the floor as Simon began to lead the way out for him.

“I really am glad you’re safe, Connor,” Markus briefly delayed his exit to speak to the still immobilized android. “I’ll be seeing you again soon. In the meantime, please be sure to get some rest and recover.”

After the leader made his final request, he turned back to follow his fiance and RK900 to the exit. Hank calmly watched them go, only turning back to Connor and Chloe when the three moved out of his sight. He then gradually approached the couple, kneeling down next to them as a somber expression spread across his face.

“... I’m sorry I hit you,” the man mumbled, putting a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. That touch seemed to finally make Connor come back to his senses, his glazed over eyes returning to their alert state when he turned to look at him. 

“You had to,” the young android shook his head, honestly understanding Hank’s intentions when he attacked him. “There was nothing else you could’ve done…” 

“We need to get you home,” Chloe’s voice was nearly a whisper when she pulled him back into a tight hug upon seeing that he was responsive again, hiding her face in his shoulder as she did. “This is a lot to deal with, even for me, and you need rest.”

“Home…” Connor’s echo of Chloe’s words were filled with consolation, closing his eyes and leaning into her as he returned the tender embrace. He slid another slightly unexpected arm around Hank as well, who froze for a second before putting his arms around the boy, at last completing what he considered to be his home above any other place on the planet.

“Yes… Home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god this took me over a month to write I am SO SORRY. Covid has made somewhat of a huge impact on my life, delaying this considerably. I'm not sick and no one in my family is sick, but just the situations around it have really caused a lot of stress in my life. That being said, everyone please stay safe and clean. I love you all and don't want anyone to get hurt from this <3


	16. Relief

Needless to say, the journey back home was an emotional one. At first, Hank offered to go back to the bridge to get his car and come pick them up, but Connor immediately refused. He begged the man to stay and gripped onto his sleeve desperately, the need to keep his family as close to him as possible so overwhelming that he felt genuinely frightened at just the mere thought of one of them leaving of his sight. Hank was almost immediately defeated, completely unable to make himself oppose the boy with the current state he was in. That, and the man was obviously reluctant to separate from him too.

What ended up happening consisted of the three of them exiting the ruined house all together. Hank took initiative to lead the way back, keeping a firm, but gentle hand on Connor’s shoulder as he followed along where the hidden passage was above ground. Chloe was glued to his other side, her hands gripping at his virtually shredded jacket with her face half hidden in his torso. In turn, he had an arm wrapped around her shoulders, keeping her as close as he could to himself as he could while keeping up a steady walking pace. 

No words were spoken during what was almost a fifteen minute walk. Not that no one had anything that they wanted to say, but rather everyone had too much that they wanted to say. So many thoughts, so many fears, so many expressions of love and revere filled each of their minds to the brim. Instead of letting it all out and throwing around emotions chaotically, all three of them seemed to decide that silence was the best option for now. The time would soon come to fully express the joy of their reunion, but as of right now, they needed to focus on returning to a safe environment. 

When they eventually reached the bridge, Hank thoughtlessly let go of Connor’s shoulder, heading over to his car to open the door and get in the driver’s seat. However, the very second that the man’s hand left him, Connor made a quiet, involuntary whimper of panic. He was so traumatized, so mentally wounded and exhausted that he truly thought Hank had tried to abandon him for the briefest of moments. The poor boy abruptly grabbed his arm into a death grip before he could move more than two steps away, causing the man to look back around in surprise, freezing in his tracks and watching the android in confusion.

Connor seemed to pull himself out of whatever irrational mindset he had fallen into upon seeing Hank’s puzzlement, his gaze dropping to the ground guiltily as he released his hold on him, letting his own arm fall back to his side. In turn, the Lieutenant sighed silently, placing his hand on the young android’s back as he walked him and Chloe all the way to the vehicle, making sure the two got into the back seat without incident. 

Without even waiting for her to step all the way into the car, Connor yanked Chloe back into his desperate arms, making her squeak in surprise from the sudden movement. She recovered quickly, however, snuggling up to him as close as she could while she curled her legs up on the seat. By then, Hank had closed the back door and gotten into the driver’s seat, fumbling to pull out his keys for a moment. But just before he turned the ignition, he looked up to his rearview mirror, checking on the two before going anywhere.

They already looked like they were starting to fall asleep together, their eyes closed and their breathing becoming soft and steady. Connor had his face in the girl’s golden hair as he so often did, the embrace he had her in that was once rather urgent calming down to one of affection and fondness. Chloe had her head resting on his chest with her ear directly against his heart, reassuring her with each beat that Connor was alive and well. 

A weak, half smile crawled onto Hank’s expression as he directed his eyes back to the road, starting the engine and pulling away from the bridge, making a beeline at long last towards their home.

Almost an hour later, the sun had started to rise when Hank pulled into the driveway, almost feeling like it was adding insult to injury from how tired everyone was. It turns out the couple hadn’t fallen into too deep of a sleep, because the second the engine shut off, they both began to stir out of their cuddling, their movements sluggish and their eyes half closed. Everyone made their way back to the entryway of the house, none of them really coherent enough to realize the loud thumping of footsteps barreling towards the front door. The second it was open however, Sumo popped out to greet everyone, spinning around in rapid circles and barking with excitement, beyond ecstatic that everyone had returned after being gone for so long. 

The trio got a small laugh out of that, each of them happily giving the dog a few pats on the head before stepping inside. Sumo trotted after them, panting in content as they migrated to Connor’s room. The couple crawled into the bed together, curling up into virtually the exact same position as before and going motionless rather quickly again. Hank carefully placed a blanket over top of both of them, taking a long breath before turning to walk to his own room. He was stopped in his tracks when Connor surprised him by grabbing his arm again, his tired eyes looking back at him briefly as he wordlessly asked him to stay. 

The Lieutenant complied without thinking too much about it, lowering down onto the floor next to the bed, keeping his hand resting on the boy's arm as he propped himself against the nightstand, he too beginning to nod off just from being in a half-comfortable position. Sumo plopped down on the floor next to Hank, drifting away with the rest of the family. 

A tranquility lifted the air around them as they slumbered, the entire room swelling with unspoken words of sentiment. The early morning grew completely silent, at last providing everyone with the peace and rest that they needed.

* * *

Connor found himself waking up with a start when he felt Chloe shift around uneasily, the movements she made too deliberate for her to just be moving in her sleep. Instinctively, he tried to ask her if she was okay, but being less than half conscious, it came out as an incoherent mumble, the arm he had around her inching her closer.

"Connor? Are you awake..?" Chloe's slightly surprised words were completely clear and lucid as she looked up at him, not at all having the raspiness and grogginess like he remembered her having the other day. Although he still wasn't quite completely there, he put together rather quickly that she had definitely been awake for at least ten minutes or so by now.

"Are you alright?" He repeated himself, this time able to form real words now that concern was quickly waking him up. His arm that was being held by Hank slowly moved away from the man, raising his now free hand to her cheek. His eyes gradually opened to the wonderful sight of his love, unable to keep himself from smiling when he looked at her, her bright blue eyes and radiant aura having him completely enchanted as she always did.

For about three seconds.

Connor's gentle smile dropped upon seeing how pale she had gotten, his eyes widening in worry when he realized that her expression was suppressing a pained wince behind an awkward smile.

"I'm wonderful," she leaned her face into his hand, humming softly before glancing back over at him. "Are you okay?" 

"No. You're not okay," Connor's tone was suddenly much more panicked than seconds ago, sitting up with her quickly as he took her face in both of his hands, looking over her frantically. "Your- Your vitals are spiking. What's happening!? Are you in pain!? Are-"

"What's going on..?" Hank had been woken up at this point from all of the commotion, his voice stained as he forced himself to rouse awake faster, his squinting eyes looking up at the couple questioningly.

"Hank, something's wrong with Chloe," Connor’s words fumbled out of him in rapid alarm, yanking at the man's jacket to usher him to get up and help him.

"No, Connor, I promise I'm okay," Chloe insisted, shaking her head and putting a reassuring hand on his chest. The second she did, however, her vitals spiked higher, even more color draining from her face as the corner of her mouth twitched, obviously trying to hold back any distinct changes to her expression.

"No! You’re not!" Connor's voice was getting louder now as the panic swelled in his chest, his hold on her tightening to where it was probably painful. “Why are you lying to me!?”

At this point he knew his reaction was getting a little irrational, but he didn't care. He just got her back. He _just_ got her back. He couldn't have anything happen to her. _Nothing_ can happen to her. She _can’t_ suffer like this. _Ever._

Chloe went silent after that last question, her expression falling in defeat as she looked over to Hank, who was now standing and watching the two with wide, uncomfortable eyes. They almost seemed to have a nonverbal exchange for a moment, Hank nodding a little while he shrugged his shoulders, and Chloe letting out a long, tired sigh.

"What!? What's going on!?" Connor's head whipped between the two of them, his heart now pounding so hard it almost echoed in his head. "Hank, do you know what's happening!? Why aren't you telling me!?" 

"I uh…" Hank began to back away awkwardly as his gaze dropped to the floor, gesturing for Sumo to follow, which he indeed did. "I… I think I'm gonna leave you two alone for a little while."

“What- What’s…” Connor trailed off when Hank cut himself and Sumo off from the couple by closing the door, leaving them in a weighty silence that was so uncomfortable it almost hurt. 

"Chloe..?" The poor boy's voice had dropped to a near whisper now, his terrified eyes meeting her own resigned ones. And while her vitals were slowly going back down now, she still looked just as devoid of color when she hung her head for a moment, presumably to put together what she should say.

"... Before I start, I want you to know that I'm not in any danger," as her sights lifted up to meet him, Connor could see tears just barely starting to brim at her eyes, making any solace that her preface might've given him get thrown out the window. "I'm _not_ sick and I _won't_ die, okay? I promise."

"This… This has been happening for about a week now…" she started, each word coming out painfully slowly as she struggled to speak. "Markus saw it happening and explained to me what it was. You know… You know how we've been… Physical for a little while now? Well… Um…" 

She trailed off, unable to continue for a moment while she forced herself to gather some composure. Connor didn't interrupt or rush her to keep going, but the fear he had felt only moments before had become miniscule compared to what cleaved at his heart now. This had something to do with them being intimate!? What did that mean!? Did he hurt her somehow!? Was he the reason she was going through physical torment!? Was-

"No, it's not your fault," Chloe quickly interjected, apparently able to tell exactly what he was thinking just by looking at his expression. "It's not. I promise it's not. It's… You know how deviants can feel pain now? Well… Markus told me that… We're starting to be able to get other human sensations too. He thinks that I'm experiencing…" 

She stopped again, taking one last shaking, deep breath before looking him directly in his eyes, the fight she was having to keep herself from crying becoming blindingly obvious now.

"... I have this thing called Nesting Syndrome... Morning sickness," her voice was oddly steady when she finally confessed what was wrong, sniffing quietly and rubbing the tears out of her eyes, evidently starting to pull herself together. "I… I just feel sick for a few minutes is all. I'm not hurt or damaged or anything. It's not that big of a deal, really. Plus he said that it never lasts more than a few months…" 

Those last few sentences didn't even get through to Connor's head, utterly and completely stupefied at what she had revealed to him. Morning sickness..? The infliction humans get in the first few months of pregnancy..? Chloe was having symptoms of being… Pregnant? 

He knew full well that she wasn't, yes, but it still hit him like a train directly to his chest, his lungs unable to let themselves inhale as he processed what that meant. It… It really _was_ his fault. It wouldn't have even happened at all if it weren't for him. Her body was simulating being with child, which in reality was impossible. She had to live with that constant reminder now, one that he hadn’t even considered until that very moment. He was the one who made her have to endure such a heartbreaking, taunting affliction. _He_ was.

He didn't even remotely know how to vocalize everything that was screaming in his head, but his face must've communicated enough, because Chloe grabbed him into an unexpected hug, frantically repeating her claims that she was okay, that it wasn't his fault, and that she'd be fine soon. But he only heard her speak in slow motion, the arms that wrapped around the frame of his love hesitant and weak. He remained speechless for a moment before reality crashed back into him out of nowhere, the crushing sorrow that washed over him immediately making the corners of his eyes sting as he hid his face in her shoulder. 

"I-I'm so sorry," he whispered, his trembling voice filled with despair despite her reminders of his innocence, consciously trying not to hold her too tightly now that he knew she was ill. "I'm s-so sorry, Chloe. I- We- We don't- We won't do anything again until-"

"No," Chloe’s still oddly settled words interrupted him before he could go any further, her hair brushing against his face when she shook her head. "No, we can. It doesn't make me feel any worse when we do. I'm not lying. I _promise_ you I'm not."

“I’m so sorry,” Connor couldn’t stop himself from feebly repeating the phrase, even though it was impossible to put into words just how drenched in guilt he truly was. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry…” 

He got quieter and quieter the more he said it until he went completely silent, his shoulders shaking when the tears started to fall from his eyes. Chloe didn’t respond to his cries for forgiveness, probably knowing that anything she might say to reassure him would be futile. Instead she just ran her hand along his back comfortingly, still not showing any more signs that she herself would start crying again. 

“... Why are you so calm?” Connor’s unexpected question came out of nowhere, pulling away to look over her now slightly surprised demeanor. “Why aren’t you more upset!? Aren’t you bothered by this!?” 

He knew for a fact that this situation should be making her beyond devastated, yet she was completely put together somehow. Was she in a deep denial? Was she too distressed to fully show what she was feeling? Was she still feeling sick!?  
  
To his bewilderment, Chloe formed a soft, kind smile on her face from his question, putting a loving hand to his cheek and glancing over his tear-streaked features before answering. 

“Because you’re crying, Connor,” she spoke her even more puzzling explanation as if it were obvious, the corners of her mouth spreading wider as she did. “You’ve been letting yourself show your emotions for the first time. You’re not suppressing your sadness anymore. You’re crying. You’re letting yourself be free. And that makes me so, so happy.”

Connor didn’t move a muscle for a good ten seconds, absolutely stunned by her answer. He hadn’t even realized it until she pointed it out, but it’s true. Ever since they had found him, he didn’t try to avoid confronting his emotions at all. Yes, he had felt extremely exposed and vulnerable because of it, but at the same time… He also felt an overwhelming sense of what he had so desperately needed for a really, really long time now.

Relief.

Suddenly, he found he was unable to restrain himself at all anymore, his head hanging low when his sobs grew heavier. Upon seeing that he was letting himself go even more now, Chloe stroked affectionately at his hair as she hummed, a soft, soothing, almost hypnotic tune, providing as much subtle comfort as she could. Connor let himself be entirely engulfed by it, absorbing every note, every vibration in the air that her voice made. As he sat there, letting his emotions flow freely while he was consoled by the love of his life, he felt the weight that plagued his shoulders for so long begin to slowly but surely lift away from him. It was then that he realized that Chloe had completely changed his life in infinitely more ways than he previously thought she had, becoming what he truly believed to be his guardian angel.

And god, did he love her for it.


	17. Thank you

A few more inevitable minutes of tears were shed, which was then followed by a couple more precious hours of rest. Now entirely soothed and relieved by each other’s presence, Connor and Chloe were in each other’s arms once more, laying with their foreheads resting together, their eyes closed and their fingers subtly running through each other’s hair and over their skin. Just breathing. Just feeling. Just taking as much of each other in as they possibly could. 

It was as if there was an unseen force that had been holding them together since they had been reunited, unable to stop themselves from being as close to each other as possible. The fear of the possibility that they would be permanently separated from each other had formed an imperative, desperate need to stay together, both mentally and physically at this point.

Connor needed her more than words could ever describe; the pain from the raw, gaping wounds in his spirit only able to be alleviated by her. The tortuous screams of the past that reverberated unceasingly in his mind were muted, almost completely disappearing whenever he was this close to his angel. Chloe needed him to an entirely new degree. An extent that she never would have thought was possible for her to feel only a few weeks ago; knowing that he was alive, that he was here with her, that he loved her just as much as she loved him. It was just all as essential to her survival as her beating heart. 

And while they both knew deep, deep down that they really shouldn’t be relying solely on each other to provide happiness in their life, they honestly didn’t care right now. Problems like that didn’t matter right now. Seemingly trivial issues that could probably be resolved later didn’t matter right now. What mattered right now was her. Was him. What mattered right now was the life they could feel flowing in an endless stream between each other. What mattered right now was their love, and that it had survived such a horrifying incident. 

It would’ve been nice to say that the loving couple were able to spend the rest of their day in peace, taking all the time they needed to recover and sort themselves out. Unfortunately, however, the law had to come first. The DPD needed to close the case files on not only Connor’s missing person investigation, but the murders of the two androids now that they had the murderer in custody. Well, at this point “murder” wasn’t exactly the best description of what RK900 had committed, which in of itself was another reason why going to the department was such an urgent matter. 

What the hell were they going to do with 900?

Hank gave the bedroom door a gentle knock a couple of hours later, drawing the two ever so slowly out of their tranced state with one another. They seemed to both know what the Lieutenant was going to tell them, because they sighed in slight exasperation at nearly the same time. Once they were fully cognizant again, Connor gave Chloe a brief, gentle kiss before finally forcing himself to stand back up, more than a little reluctant to do anything that required any kind of energy. Chloe followed suit, her light footsteps taking her to the bedroom door. She opened it to reveal the man himself, standing patiently with his arms behind his back. 

“... You two okay?” He asked quietly, looking between the androids for a moment, his worried gaze mostly fixating on Connor. It didn’t look like he was that concerned about the boy’s physical condition at the moment. With the way his features were sunken in and his shoulders were slumped over ever so slightly, the young android knew that the sadness the Lieutenant felt was the result of being concerned about Connor’s well being. After all, Hank knew about Chloe’s condition. He knew that the poor android now had to cope with that on top of everything else that was tormenting him.

He thought about it for a moment, genuinely trying to figure out if he was okay or not. Connor wasn’t really sure if he’d feel completely “okay” for quite a while, the toll that had been taken on him too heavy to just push to the side. But at the same time, he wasn’t afraid anymore. He wasn’t in pain. He wasn’t begging for his life or the life of his family. He wasn’t under the looming dread of impending torture. Instead, he was with the people that he loved more than anything this world could ever offer him. He was home. Safe. With his family.

Slowly, Connor found himself nodding, confirming that he was more or less stable at the moment. Chloe formed a weak smile on her face from his response, turning to face Hank again and giving him her own nod, making the man let out a long, relieved breath, the slump in his posture beginning to straighten out as his mood lightened.

“Uh… You should probably put on different clothes before we go,” Hank then said a little awkwardly, gesturing to Connor’s excessively tattered clothing. The young android looked down in mild surprise, not even realizing until that moment how many slashes and holes had been ripped in the fabric from the wires that had once restrained him.

Wordlessly, the boy opened his closet door and began to pull out the first items of clothing his hands landed on. He wasn’t necessarily moving slower than usual; more along the lines of moving much more inefficiently than he normally would. His superhumanly precise actions were now considerably clumsier, fumbling with his buttons and losing his grip every so often. Hank and Chloe were obviously more than patient, standing a bit off to the side and looking away respectively. They both knew that Connor wasn't able to handle being by himself, even if it meant they were simply on the other side of the door. Neither of them really wanted to leave him alone anyway. 

Soon enough, after dressing himself with a simple button up and slacks, the boy stepped up beside Chloe, his fingers slowly reaching out lacing themselves with her own. She looked up at him when he did, giving him a small, but sincere smile in return as she squeezed his hand. It was enough to send a spark of warmth through his chest, adoration briefly raising the corners of his mouth before turning back to Hank.

"C'mon, you two," Hank placed a firm, reassuring hand on Connor's shoulder for a moment before gesturing for them to follow with a humph of amusement. They did indeed follow, not staying an inch further apart than they had to on their journey to the front door. Soon enough, they managed to climb into Hank's car once more, driving off into the afternoon on a better note than any of them had really expected.

* * *

Hank had called ahead and gave them the basics of what the police needed to know before they came in, including the fact that Connor wasn’t exactly in perfect mental condition at the moment. Being a police department, everyone had obviously been trained in conversing with a trauma victim, but the Lieutenant apparently wanted to make it more than evident that they should treat him with a calm nature. Detective Reed was also discourteously requested by him to stay at least three rooms away from the android while they were there. 

The trio were left alone when they arrived, but delighted, solaced gazes were directed at them by most of the staff when they walked by. Connor was well liked by (most of) the staff at the DPD, and they were all noticeably relieved that he had been found. A few of them looked somewhat surprised to see Chloe with them as well, but didn’t seem to linger too long on it. It seemed that Gavin had been telling the truth when he said that everyone in the department knew about their relationship now. And while the fact that they had been publicly recognized as a couple didn’t really bother Connor that much, he still felt a spark of irritation, annoyed that Reed had to have been right about something so personal to him. 

“You made it back,” the confident, iconic voice of Markus himself approached the trio when he saw them arrive, a half-smile forming on his face upon seeing that everyone was okay again. “Now that I’m able to, I can tell you how truly glad I am to see you’re safe, Connor,” the leader began to reach his arm out a few inches, but quickly realized that touching the boy might not be the best idea at the moment, pulling his hand back rather stiffly. 

“... Is there anything I can do for you?” He continued, attempting to deter any awkwardness he might’ve just caused. “I can provide you with anything I possibly can within my abilities.” 

“Thank you, Markus. That’s kind of you,” Connor nodded in recognition to the android in front of him, surprisingly able to form a small smile without much effort at all. “But I don’t need anything more from you. What you’ve done for us already is more than enough.”

Markus’ demeanor noticeably became much lighter than it was only moments ago upon hearing the detective’s words, returning a genuine smile to the detective. It seemed that he really, truly was glad to see him okay. While Connor had always considered the leader to be at least a friend in his eyes, he was beginning to realize that perhaps they were becoming closer than he had once thought. After all, Chloe would tease him every once in a while about Markus being his “older brother.”

“Good to see ya, Markus,” Hank gripped at the leader’s shoulder firmly for a moment in a casual greeting, he himself starting to shake off the melancholy disposition they had when they first arrived. “Everything go okay comin’ back here?” 

“Yes. He was nothing but cooperative the whole time,” Markus nodded to the man, not quite losing his uplifted tone until he turned to Chloe, his facial expression ever so slightly sinking and his voice dropping a few decibels.

“... Are  _ you  _ alright..?” He asked, attempting to express that he was concerned, but not so much so that it would rouse any suspicion. Despite this, Connor immediately knew what Markus was asking her, an almost aggressive feeling of pain stabbing him in the stomach upon being reminded about Chloe’s affliction. And while he didn’t actually feel himself make a noticeable change in his facial expression, it was apparently enough to make Markus’ eyes widen in alarm, apparently putting the pieces together rather quickly. 

“Yes. I’m fine,” Chloe’s response was a drastic contrast to what everyone else was expressing, a genuine tone of joy surrounding her words as she hugged Connor’s arm with a blissful sigh. “He’s back home again, so I’m honestly the most content I've ever been.”

Chloe was clearly trying to comfort Connor with so many indirect reassurances. Yet, somehow they actually seemed to be enough to work, letting himself relax as he let the pain pass, knowing that she truly wasn’t lying. He knew she was okay. He knew that. He just needed to remind himself about it more often.

Markus let out a long, relieved breath upon the tension quickly settling down thanks to Chloe’s quick thinking, deciding to leave the entire subject behind while he could.

“They told me that they want your witness statements first,” Markus gestured to the interviewing room as he looked to Connor. “They’ll also be taking reports on everything that happened to you. I know you’re aware that neither Hank nor Chloe can be in the room with you. Do you think you’re capable of handling that right now?”

“... Yes,” the young android answered without much thought, surprising the group from how certain he sounded so quickly. “Yes. I can. Are they ready for me now?” 

Markus only nodded in response, his brows raised at how impressed he was with Connor’s courage. The boy then closed his eyes, taking a moment to ground himself with a long, deep breath. He then reached out, calmly pulling Hank into a hug, to which the man immediately reciprocated, seeming more than glad to hold him in his arms from how tight his grip was. 

“You’ve got this, kid,” Hank’s tone was almost playful with his encouraging words, letting go of him after a few moments and beaming down at the young android with glowing pride. Connor gave the man a nod of recognition, a faint look of gratitude gracing his expression from the Lieutenant's encouragement. He then shifted his attention to Chloe, bringing her into a doting embrace for a moment as well.

“You’re so strong. I love you so much,” the way that Chloe’s warm statements of praise were spoken when she wrapped her arms around him hit surprisingly hard. It was as if her voice held the essence of courage itself; and as he absorbed them, it made him nearly ten times more valiant than moments before. 

“I love  _ you _ so much,” he whispered his earnest declaration to her, pulling her into a loving, tender kiss for a moment. He pulled away, but only just enough so that their noses weren’t touching. While the look he gave her wasn’t exactly a happy one, it  _ was  _ an intense one. An expression of devotedness to the woman he held so very, very dearly.

“You’re just as strong as I am, if not more,” he rubbed his thumb against Chloe’s cheek affectionately, drawing out a wispy, faint hum of bliss from her. He knew that she wanted to argue with that statement, but she seemed to know that they’d be standing here for an excessive amount of time if she did. So she just let it go, her shimmering, darling blue eyes gazing up at him encouragingly. 

After one more quick kiss on her forehead, Connor then turned to Markus, surprising everyone- including himself- when he pulled the leader into a hug too. He froze for a brief moment, but quickly returned the sentiment, patting the young android on the back reassuringly. 

“Let us know when you’re done. They might have a few more things to speak with you about,” Markus held Connor out at arm’s length for a moment, giving him a half-smile. The boy nodded in acknowledgement, finally parting from the group and making his way towards the interview room.

The officer who ended up doing the interview was Chris, someone who Connor had come to think of as a good acquaintance. He was highly cautious and attentive with his execution of the interview, frequently asking if he needed to take a break or skip any certain questions. Somehow, the quiet detective managed to get through the whole thing without any compromises. There were a few instances that were obviously much more difficult to speak about than others, so much so that once or twice he had to stop and calm himself down for a few minutes. But he just kept reminding himself that his family was only a room away, perfectly safe and believing in him that he had the courage to push through. 

It took about an hour and a half to get his full report done, but he managed to end it in one piece. He was somewhat more upset than he had been when they first started, but luckily he was able to keep a firm hold on himself. Chris praised him on his resilience, admitting that he probably wouldn’t have been able to finish such an agonizing recollection if the roles were reversed. And while Connor was appreciative of the man’s comments, he was a little too preoccupied to really respond. Something had started to stir within his core towards the end of the interview. Something that troubled him deeply. Something that he couldn't just simply ignore.

He reunited with his family once more, who were now sitting at Hank and Connor's desks and speaking quietly to each other. Chloe was the first one to spot him approaching, scooting off the edge of Hank's desk where she had been residing and skittering up to him. She quickly took his hands in her own, opening her mouth and inhaling to say something, but the young android didn't need her to speak to know what she was about to ask.

"Yes. I'm okay," he reassured her in a soft, caring voice, squeezing her hands gently and kissing the top of her head as he did. She seemed to sense that he was telling the truth, because she let the tense air out of her lungs, a genuine smile of relief brightening her face. 

"Hank and I were interviewed too. We finished ours around a half an hour ago," she began to lead Connor back towards Hank, who had gotten up from his chair and was already starting to head towards the two. 

"I knew you could do it, son," the man added to Chloe's statement, reaching out once he was close enough and giving his arm an encouraging grip. "You're way tougher than you think you are. Your intelligence has nothing on your strength."

"Thanks, dad." 

Connor's staggering words came out of him so casually that it sounded like he'd said it a million times before, not really realizing the gravity of what he said until a few moments later. When he did, however, he froze so quickly it literally hurt a small bit, his eyes widening as much as the other two as he flicked his sights between them nervously. While he didn't regret speaking the paternal title at all, having honestly felt that way for quite a while now, he didn't think the first time he'd end up saying it would be so... Nonchalant.

A good ten seconds went by, what Connor perceived as an agonizing tension surrounding the three until it was broken by Hank. He shockingly didn't do anything drastic in response to it, simply squeezing the boy's arm a little tighter and nodding, his smile now radiating the exact same overjoyed glow he'd seen surround Chloe so many times. Tears began to brim at his eyes for a moment, never actually welling enough to fall to his cheeks. Connor has never seen Hank cry before, but he didn't remotely feel any kind of sadness from the sight. If anything, he had grown even more content from it, knowing that the bond he had with his family was truly growing stronger and stronger with each passing second.

"... I need to talk to RK900," he said out of nowhere, his expression becoming somber despite the tender moment they'd shared only seconds earlier. Once again, there was somewhat of a lack of an expected reaction. Both Hank and Chloe nodded almost in sync at Connor's request, seeming to understand his reasonings without him even saying it.

"Alone, right?" Hank sighed as he let go of the boy's arm, moving on with his emotions and knowing that now wouldn't be the best time to linger on sentiments. 

"Yes," Connor confirmed with a short nod, he himself somewhat reluctant to have to put that to the side. But he just  _ couldn't  _ get over the uneasiness churning inside of him, and he knew the only way to make it stop would be to speak to 900, even if he wasn't exactly sure why. "I'll be sure to let you know the second anything goes wrong, which I doubt will be the case anyway."

"... Okay," Hank didn't take too long to think about it, not bothering to try to think too much about it. "We'll get him to an interrogation room, but we won't be sitting on the other side and watching, alright?"

"Thank you," Connor breathed out his gratitude with a bit of exhaustion in his voice, his gaze dropping to the floor as his beloved mentor walked out of sight.

"... What are you going to say to him?" Chloe's small, almost timid voice caught him just a bit off guard, his gaze shifting back to her to find that she had her hands behind her back, watching him a bit sheepishly.

"... I think I'll know when I see him," he said after a moment, somewhat admitting that he himself didn't really know the answer. "However, I promise you I won't lay a finger on him. Attacking him before was… Irrational, at best."

"I know you won't," she shook her head a bit at his disclaimer, but seemed a little relieved nonetheless. She took a few steps towards him, a small, but bright smile beginning to grace her face.

"... I'm so happy you're back," Chloe spoke in nearly a whisper as she slid her arms around Connor's waist, once again being pulled by the energy that just couldn't seem to let them stay apart. "I'm… I'm just…" 

She didn't finish her sentence, instead just looking up at him with joyful, adoring eyes. The young android felt his troubles begin to disappear just from that one look, unable to hold back a loving gaze of his own.

"I'm happy, too," he murmured softly, pulling his love to his chest and savoring the warmth that completely washed over him, wondering how he was lucky enough to have every moment in his life manage to line up perfectly to end up with her in his arms.

* * *

For some reason, the room was exceedingly cold. The second the door slid open, Connor could've sworn the temperature around him suddenly dropped ten degrees. He wasn't sure if it was because the air conditioning in this part of the station was off, or if it had something to do with the android who was sitting at the table.

He wasn't handcuffed or restrained in any way, but he was still slumped over in a defeated manner, his head hanging low and his shoulders slouched. The side of his head hadn’t quite healed all the way yet, what looked like a new, nasty scar running across his temple where the injury Connor had inflicted once was. The pale, bleak interior of the room was what really drew out the dreariness in RK900's appearance, the complimenting colors almost making him seem to fade away into the walls, which was probably what he was wishing he could do at that moment.

Oddly enough, Connor didn't have as much of a visceral reaction to seeing 900 as he thought he would have. It was more of a feeling of general uneasiness, a quick pang to his chest that ended rather quickly. He had no doubt it was not only because RK's deviance was more than apparent now, to say the least, but also because of what Markus showed him. He’s seen the hold that Cyberlife had trapped him in. He's seen that his successor truly never had control of anything he said or did.

But it didn't really make his appearance that much less sickening.

900 didn’t move a muscle when Connor approached the table, who wasn't taking his eyes off of the resigned android in front of him. As he pulled out the chair on the other side of the table and sat down, he took one brief glance over at the one-way window to their side, making completely sure he didn’t sense any heartbeats or vital signs of someone watching them. Once he confirmed that they were indeed alone, he turned his attention back to RK900, his brow furrowing a bit as he pondered how he should begin.

“... I know what happened,” he finally started, his expression not changing much when he said it. “I… I know you couldn’t control yourself. You didn’t-”

“I kissed her,” RK900 butted in out of nowhere, his confession abrupt and distressed as he sunk even further into himself, going just as rigid as his words were. “I kissed her, but she pushed me away. I haven't touched her since. I told her- That I was-... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

Connor closed his eyes upon hearing what 900 had admitted to, desperately fighting to somehow douse the blazing fire of anger that had begun to roar to life in his chest. It took a minute, but eventually, by some miracle, he managed to subdue himself back down to a level where he could control himself again.

“... Like I said,” The detective’s words were so slow and unsteady that it actually made RK flinch ever so slightly, his breath visibly freezing in his lungs as he did. “I know that you weren’t in control. You never wanted to do any of the misdeeds you committed.”

“... Right?” 

That single syllable made RK900’s head finally whip back up to look at Connor, an absolutely horrified look etched in his face at what that implied. The young android didn’t take it back, however. If anything, his gaze upon his successor intensified, searching every inch of his body to read if he would start lying.

“Y-Yes. Yes, I never wanted to hurt you,” 900’s words were frantic now, desperate to convey that he truly did regret what he had done. “I- I  _ never _ wanted to hurt you, or Chloe, or Hank, or either of the androids I killed. I… I didn’t even know their names. I don’t know the names of the people I-” 

His voice got caught in his throat all of a sudden, an agonized expression twisting up his face before he threw his head into his hands, his breath shuddering heavily now from how distressed he had gotten from reflecting on his past.

Connor’s stone-faced demeanor stayed unflinching, not reacting to RK’s sorrow in the slightest. It might seem cruel to act so stoic to someone who was so upset, but the memories of RK900’s own cruelty far outweighed anything Connor had ever said or done to his successor.

“Show me.”

Once again surprised, RK slowly raised his head back up. Tears had started to brim in his eyes, threatening to spill out along with the rest of his composure. But all Connor did was gradually reach his hand out to 900, his arm melting down to a pale white as he exposed it, inviting his doppelganger to make a mental connection.

“Show me you regret it. Show me you didn’t mean it. Show me,” he explained a bit more pressingly, ushering his hand even closer to the shocked android before him.

“I- You want- A-are you sure?” RK900 stuttered, but didn’t recoil or try to back away, looking between Connor’s hand and his face rapidly. “You really want to feel-”

_ “Show me,”  _ Connor repeated much more threateningly this time, not raising his voice so much as letting a bit of his insatiable anger show in his words for a brief moment. It made 900 almost immediately comply, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment in apprehension before taking hold of Connor’s arm, his own skin retracting to link their minds together.

Perhaps it was because RK900 was such an advanced model, or perhaps it was because 900 was much, much more sincere than what he once thought, but the second the emotions hit Connor, debilitating was an understatement to how extreme the regret that had suddenly swallowed him whole was. RK didn’t hold back anything. He let his predecessor feel every last bit of anguish that plagued him every second of every moment that he had been deviant. It was so bad that Connor completely physically shut down for a moment, going limp as his head filled with white noise as a self defence mechanism. The mental pain that was being shown to him was nearly as bad as what he himself had felt during the darkest moments he was under his successor’s capture.

He couldn’t take it.

After what felt like nearly an hour, but was really only two seconds, Connor's body jerked back to life, his arm flying away from RK900 as he jumped out of his chair stumbled backwards until he hit the back wall, panting heavily as he desperately tried to recover. While he couldn’t feel the emotions themselves anymore, that single moment alone was enough to take a decent toll on him, the raw wound of trauma nearly reopening again from how disturbingly familiar RK's anguish felt. He closed his eyes and held his still exposed hand to his chest, taking fast, heavy breaths as he tried to force himself to calm down.

RK didn’t move from his spot, but even with his eyes closed, Connor could sense that he had grown somber again, slumping back over into almost the same position as before, waiting patiently as his predecessor recovered. It took a good minute, but the young android was able to pull himself together, at least enough to somewhat get his senses straight. 

“... I… I don’t know when, but…" He started, his voice trembling heavily. "I know I’ll be able to fully forgive you… Eventually. I just… I can’t now. I-I can’t-”   
  
Connor gave up trying to communicate what he was thinking rather quickly, the need to get out of that room and back to his family as soon as possible outweighing the message he was trying to convey. He hastily made his way back towards the door, stumbling a bit as he put his hand on the scanner, making the door slide open for him. 

“I didn’t tell her.” 

Connor froze when he heard RK call out to him just before he stepped outside, his eyes widening slightly as he slowly turned his head back to look at 900, his brow raised in question.

“I told her and Hank everything, except that… That I saw her…” 900 clearly didn’t have the strength to get it out, but continued anyway, figuring that Connor would understand where he was getting at “I thought that… You should be the one to tell her, not me.”

There was a lengthy pause when RK went silent, the stillness that hung in the air so strong that it seemed as if even the microscopic dust particles had stopped moving. It lasted much longer than it should have, making even the detective himself uncomfortable before he was finally able to force the words out of his mouth.

“... Thank you,” Connor’s final words to his successor were solemn, quiet, and unexpectedly sincere. As he made himself continue over the threshold and heard the door shut behind him, he realized that he’d just given a genuine statement of gratitude. Something he had once thought would be the absolute last thing he thought he’d ever,  _ ever _ say to RK900.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good god this took an outrageously long time. I'm SO SORRY GUYS


End file.
